Don't Say Yes
by liaxx
Summary: James Potter finally gets the love of his life to love him back, but there's just one tiny detail that gets in the way of his happy ending: an arranged marriage. Now, the Marauders and a very helpful OC need to figure out a way to get the two together forever. But with an upcoming war and other teenage woes, this is proving more difficult than they thought it would be.
1. Prologue

"… And if anyone objects for any reason to this couple to join in marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace."

James Potter held his breath. Soon, the ceremony would be over and all of his worries hopefully faded from his mind. That was not the case, however.

The door to the small chapel flung open, letting the bright sun shine in and momentarily blind everyone. Standing in the doorway was a small female with a determined look on her face. She was out of breath, her hair was a mess, and the bottom of her dress was torn. "I object," she shouted.

Gasps were elicited by the entire crowd. Everyone could hardly believe that someone would actually interrupt such a beautiful and important ceremony. The bridesmaids and groomsmen all stared at each other in complete and utter shock. No one knew how to act as they waited for girl's next words.

However, what happened next surprised them all…

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 **A/N:** I know this is kind of backwards but I just added this prologue because I felt it was needed & hope that it's more appealing to readers! Anyways, next chapter is in the works, please enjoy & review. ~ 3 Lia


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! So I wrote this story a long time ago but now that I think my skills have slightly improved I wanted to rewrite it. I really love this idea, because it was inspired by the song "Speak Now" by Taylor Swift. This story is as canon as possible but obviously I needed to add my own twists! Please enjoy & possibly review :) ~ Lia

 **disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters, settings, etc. except for any obvious OC's! (all goes to queen J.K. Rowling)

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It was a beautiful morning as the sun shined through the slats of Lily Evans' blinds and left a bright striped pattern on her green carpet. It was September first, known by all of the wizards and witches of Great Britain as the first day of school for Hogwarts students. The air outside was still as warm as it was in the middle of summer and showed no signs of cooling off anytime soon. That was alright, though, because seventh year students like Lily wanted time to last as long as it could, knowing that their time at Hogwarts was coming to an end. There were still tons of almost-adults at school, left clueless about what their lives held for them in the future, but Lily was not included in this bunch. She wanted to be a great Auror, and it had been her dream since her first year at Hogwarts. For now, though, Lily only wanted to think one day at a time, savoring life before the real world. And in the very present, she was still sleeping soundly in her trundle bed next to her best friend Charlotte Quincy, or "Lottie," for short. Across the hallway, her sister Petunia snored loudly, intent on ignoring what the events of the day were going to be.

At exactly nine-thirty, Lottie's Muggle alarm clock went off loudly, its bells causing everyone in the house to stir awake. Lily begrudgingly opened her eyes. Though she was happy to have Lottie stay, given her family situation, Lily wished that her best friend had left her alarm clock at her house. See, Lottie was Muggle-born just like Lily, except Lottie's family wasn't as receptive or supportive as Lily's was. In fact, Lottie was kicked out of her house at the ripe age of eleven and hasn't really seen her family since. It's quite sad, when all things are considered, but Lottie was happy to find solace with the Evanses. Except, her alarm clock was still going off.

Silently, Lily cursed her friend for being such a sound sleeper. She mumbled and attempted to whack Lottie, who was next to her on the lower bed. "Lottie," she managed to groan, "Please, for the love of Merlin's pants, _wake up_!"

Finally Lottie slowly awakened and knocked over the clock from the window sill onto the ground. "Oops," she mumbled into her pillow. At least the wretched thing was off.

"Hey, guess what," giggled Lily, "It's our last first day."

"Wow, we're so old," moaned Lottie, squeezing her pillow to her face.

It wasn't long until the smell of bacon, eggs, and buttered toast wafted down the hallway and into the girls' room. This was the telltale sign of the first day of school. The delicious smell motivated the pair to rise from their beds, slip on some halfway decent clothing, and head to the kitchen. Lily knocked on her sister's doorframe and peered into her room before going to eat. Petunia was a very neat and, honestly, bland person. Her room was all pale shades of lavender, grey, and white, though the carpet was still the gaudy green color found throughout the house. Her bed was a nice four-poster one, with a rather plain headboard and an even more plain bed set. Lily had to admit to herself, though, that even though Petunia could be really nasty about her witchy-ness, she was still an okay sister. At the moment, her sister looked very peacefully asleep, save for the loud snoring, and undisturbed by Lily's knocking. However, a scrumptious breakfast awaited them, so she had to wake Petunia.

"Petunia," she sang loudly, "time for breakfast! Mum's got it ready on the table!"

Lily watched as her sister bolted upright and shot her a terrifying glare. "Why did you wake me?" snapped Petunia.

"Uh…" faltered Lily, "Mum made us breakfast."

"Oh, well, I'll be out in a minute." Petunia then stomped out of her bed and over to her chest of drawers in search of clothes.

As Lily walked toward the kitchen, she was thinking about her very odd relationship with her sister. When they were young girls, they were best friends. They did everything together, even though Petunia always got a little freaked out when Lily would do something weird that no one could describe. It was when Lily was nine, and became friends with a boy from a neighborhood over, that she and Petunia began drifting apart. At age ten, Lily's friendship with Severus Snape was strong, as he taught her all about being a witch and the Wizarding World. However, she and her sister were as isolated as ever. And when Lily went to Hogwarts when she was eleven, Petunia hated Lily for leaving her. From that point on, Petunia swore off all things magical and hardly ever spoke to her redheaded sister. _Ugh_ , thought Lily, _thinking about this is so depressing._

So Lily stopped thinking about her nonexistent relationship with her sister and instead joined her best friend and her father at their kitchen table. Because the sun was so bright that morning, they were all able to move around and operate just on natural light, alone. It washed everything over in a warm honey glow and made the morning seem practically perfect. Lily took a seat next to her father, Mr. Evans, who was reading the Muggle newspaper down the bridge of his nose, where his spectacles sat. Her mother, Mrs. Evans, was still moving about the kitchen, putting plates of eggs, bacon, and toast on each place setting and pouring tall glasses of orange juice. The idea of leaving all of this morning ritual was kind of sad to Lily, but Hogwarts was her second favorite place to be, so she guess it wasn't too bad.

"Goodmorning, Lily-pad," chirped Mrs. Evans. "How did you girls sleep?"

"Lottie slept like a log, as usual," snorted Lily as she picked up a fork. She shoveled a large bite of eggs in her mouth and allowed herself to hum loudly in appreciation. "Mum, you put cheese in these. How _amazing._ "

Lottie shouted, "Pure genius!"

Mrs. Evans flushed from forehead to toe and Lily realized where she got her telltale blushing skills from. "Why thank you," she said. Then, to her husband, "Mr. Evans, will you be eating this morning? Otherwise your food will get cold!"

"Alright, alright," said Mr. Evans, picking up his own fork. "I was just checking the stocks in America. That country is a mess, I'll say."

"Dad," said Lily, "You should really try reading the Daily Prophet. It's much more interesting."

Mrs. Evans tutted, "Now, Lily-pad, you know we support all of your wizardry and magic, but us 'Muggles' just aren't cut out for your world! We are perfectly content with our ordinary things." She patted Lily on the head as she took a seat next to her and inquired about Petunia.

"Well, I tried waking her up and she got out of bed," answered Lily, "But I'm not sure if she's coming."

Right on cue Petunia stormed down the hallway, over to the cupboard above the countertop, and took down a large cereal bowl. "I've gone vegetarian," she declared, "I can't believe you would cook the most non-vegetarian things ever!"

"Petunia, when did this happen?" asked Mr. Evans, who was trying to disguise his chortle as a cough.

"Vernon commented on my weight the other day, so I am trying to lose some kilos."

Lily was disgusted by the man Petunia called her boyfriend. Vernon Dudley was the most average, ordinary, boring person one could ever not hope to meet. It didn't help that he was nearly one-hundred kilograms at the ripe age of twenty. Lily couldn't help herself when she said, "Don't listen to that pig, it's not like he's got any room to talk. Literally! He practically takes up the whole room!"

Immediately, Petunia shot her a deadly glare. _If looks could kill…_ thought Lily. "Don't you dare say anything about my Vernon," hissed Petunia, "At least I can get a guy. Where are all of those fancy wizard boys at Hogwarts? Oh right, they're all freaks like you."

The kitchen was silent. Lottie, unable to deal with highly emotional situations as a result of her own family dealings, continued to devour her breakfast while staring at her plate. The air between Lily and Petunia was emotionally charged; strong currents of anger passing between them and electrifying the whole room.

"Oh dear, would you look at the time!" exclaimed Mrs. Evans suddenly. "It's nearly ten o'clock and you girls aren't dressed or anything! Go finish packing while I clean up. Mr. Evans, dearest, don't you have to go to work?"

The energy in the room flipped from negative to positive as people began bustling about, not wanting to be late. Lily and Lottie headed back to Lily's room to finish putting some last-minute things in their trunks. Petunia hung around the kitchen table, eating a bland cereal with her mother.

"Sweetie pie," said Mrs. Evans to her eldest daughter, "I know how hard it is for you, ever since the beginning, with Lily being a witch and all. But she just wants your friendship back. That's all she's ever wanted."

"Well maybe she shouldn't have insulted Vernon!" quipped Petunia. "I will not come to King's Cross station with you today. I'll be glad once that girl is out of my life."

Mrs. Evans shook her head solemnly, clueless about what to do with her two girls. Instead, she continued cleaning and packed lunches for Lily and Lottie to eat on the Hogwarts Express just in case they get hungry. About forty minutes later, the girls had carried their trunks, owl cages, and extra duffel bags to the front door, completely ready to take on their last year at Hogwarts. Lily carried her robes over her arm, with the Head Girl badge fastened onto them securely.

"I can believe that you're Head Girl," Lottie had said when Lily found out her status, "But Potter? _James Potter_ as Head Boy? Are you sure Dumbledore is as smart as they all say?"

"I thought the same," replied Lily, "But Professor Dumbledore had his own reasons, and who am I to question them? At first I was outraged. I tried _so_ hard to convince him otherwise. But he was set in his decision. And of course James was excited because that meant he could spend more time with me." At this, both of the girls had rolled their eyes.

Now, as Lily contemplated what her seventh year would hold for her, she worried that James Potter being the Head Boy wouldn't work out well. She imagined herself doing all the work, creating all of the assignments, and wandering the halls alone as James had most likely either run off to snog a girl or torment someone. To this day, she could not understand Dumbledore's choice.

Lily's thoughts were interrupted by her mother's jingling keys. "Are you all ready, girls?" she said in a lilting tone.

"Yes," the girls chorused.

"Alright, off we go!"

The three were at King's Cross station shortly and moved through the wall between Platforms 9 and 10 as discreetly as possible. They found themselves on Platform 9 and 3/4, which was buzzing with the voices of tons of families and animals alike. Many teary-eyed goodbyes to first years were taking place, and Lily thought of the first time she said goodbye to her own family. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were beaming with pride and had watery eyes. Petunia was furious with Lily for leaving her behind and angry with Dumbledore for not allowing her attendance. Once she realized that it was because of the magical, fundamental difference between she and her sister, Petunia refused to acknowledge it and simply treated Lily as a freak. It was really upsetting, but Lily remembered her inability to contain her joy.

After their farewells have been said, the two girls boarded the red Hogwarts Express and felt a wave of nostalgia wash over them. "Here we go," said Lottie. She sighed and then said, "Well I guess I better go find the gang. You're going to the prefects' compartments?"

Lily nodded her affirmation and they headed in separate directions. Before she reached her destination, she slipped into an empty cabin to quickly change into her school robes. As she did so, she was hoping that James had done the same. After her clothing swap, Lily continued on her trek. It was always rather difficult moving down the less-spacious hallway of the Hogwarts Express, especially as students were boarding. There were tons of kids dragging their trunks and pet cages along, trying to maneuver around others who were doing the same. It was rather warm at the moment, as well, due to the sheer amount of bodies. However, Lily finally made it to the compartment where she wanted to be and was greeted by Remus Lupin and a few other prefects.

"Hey guys!" greeted Lily. They all replied cheerfully and began to talk about how their summer holidays were spent. Eventually, the rest of the other prefects began trickling into the compartments slowly and, much to Lily's surprise, James Potter was on time.

With everyone who was needed in the two cabins, Lily pulled out her prewritten list of assignments. Since she had known who was to be a prefect since mid-August, she decided it would be easiest to have the train patrols and the duties for the first two weeks of school prepared. Knowing James' personality, Lily hadn't even bothered to contact him about assigning which prefects to where and when. She knew who was on the Quidditch teams, she knew who had a fuller timetable than others, and most of all she knew that she didn't need James' help.

"So," began Lily, "Here I have a written list of all of your assignments. Please find some parchment and a quill to copy your dates and times down. For the train, we will not need all of you to patrol the hallway so I am assigning all of the fifth year prefects and one prefect from each house of the sixth years. Does this sound good to everyone?" The group nodded harmoniously, not doubting Lily's authority for the second. Though the Slytherins held slightly less respect for her than others, they still knew it was best to bite their tongues. "Good," she said, the anxiety visibly draining out of her. "Listed is also who you will be paired up with. Potter and I will take the first shift here on the train and the rest of you can relax. We will return when it is time for the next shift!"

The rest of the prefects relaxed in their seats as James and Lily rose from theirs and entered the aisle. Lily gently slid the door shut behind her and turned to face James. "Hello, Potter," she greeted, "How was your summer holiday?"

They began strolling down the hallway at a very relaxed pace, occasionally glancing out of the windows at the rolling landscape that was moving past at top speed. There was lots of lush greenery, trees, and even a farm full of animals every so often. It looked very peaceful outside to Lily.

"My summer was fine. Sirius came to visit me so often it was as if he lived with me. Not much interesting happened," replied James. This was a lie. His whole life had been turned upside down by the news that his parents gave him. James could hardly look at Lily without feeling a pang in his chest. He loved his parents and thought that this year would be easy, despite the bomb they had dropped on him. However, looking at this beautiful girl beside him, he realized that it would not be easy. It would not be easy at all.

"That's good," said Lily, feeling slightly awkward. She had never felt this way before around James. Sure, she had experienced many feelings that fell under the categories of annoyed, slightly attracted, mostly irritated, and largely disgusted, but never _awkward_. This was completely new to her. Something about James Potter had changed, but Lily couldn't quite figure it out. Perhaps it was the fact that he wasn't tormenting poor little first years, planting dungbombs in unsuspecting compartments, or searching for Severus Snape to hex. Then Lily had a moment of realization, though the answer seemed altogether impossible. Could it be that James Potter was… mature? It might be the way his jaw was set, or the hard look in his eye, or maybe Lily was just crazy. But it all added up. His lack of pranks and all-around indifference pointed in the direction of maturity. Maybe being Head Girl with James as Head Boy wouldn't be so bad.

After the two were done patrolling, James went to find Sirius while Lily hung around to talk to Remus for a bit, as they were the only ones left in the prefect compartments. Lily always loved to talk to Remus. He was down to earth, intelligent, and warm, though he always looked tired as a dog.

"So, Lily, what do you think about the recent events?" asked Remus. He was referring to the increasing number of Muggle deaths, attacks on Muggle-borns, and the overall growth of violence.

Lily had been mulling these things over in her head for quite some time. Severus Snape, her former best friend, often flitted to the forefront of her thoughts. His association with the whole movement worried her the most. The Death Eaters were a lot that was up to no good and Lily never understood why he had to join them and call her that cursed word –

"Lily?" inquired Remus, wondering after her pensive silence.

"Sorry Remus, I was just thinking," answered Lily. "In all truth, I'm really scared. I'm scared for my parents, though they feel they have nothing to worry about, and I'm scared for myself. He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named just seems to be gaining more and more power. That's so dangerous."

"I know. But here at Hogwarts, you're safe. As for your family, I doubt that they'll fall subject to any attacks."

"Thank you, you always know how to cheer me up."

"No problem. Chocolate?"

Soon the train was pulling up to Hogwarts. All of the students were changed into their school robes. The first year students looked terrified and awed at the same time, and Lily couldn't help but laugh at them. Those who weren't first years were sporting their house colors proudly. Lily glanced at herself and James in their own Gryffindor ties, remembering when she was sorted into the same house as he was. She couldn't believe this arrogant git was similar in personality to her – absolutely unbelievable! But Lily shook herself of these nostalgic thoughts: They had jobs to do.

"Everyone please exit in an orderly fashion!" shouted Lily. James followed in suit, shouting instructions so that dazed first years knew where to go and who to follow.

 _Well_ , thought Lily, _here goes nothing_.

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 **A/N:** Sorry for the slow start guys! I really appreciate your read  & am working on Chapter 2 right now! ps. i changed the plot preview & just deleted it from here so like that's that thnx


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Here's Ch 2! A bit shorter than the first one, sorry! They're not really that long to begin with... :( Oh well! Please enjoy & review! ~ Lia

 _I made a few revisions to this chapter. The dialogue was absolutely horrible & I made the horrible mistake of saying that Narcissa was Sirius' sister & not cousin! Hopefully it's all better now. Anyway, please enjoy! :)_

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It was about a week after the train ride to Hogwarts. All of the students were well adjusted to their classes, and the first years actually figured out how to not get lost in the castle. However, it was still funny to watch them struggle with the Grand Staircase and its moving steps. A week had passed and everyone had worked out their patterns of life, as well as the patterns of those around them. Except, Lily was still perturbed by a certain James Potter. This black-haired boy was nothing like the boy she'd known the past six years of her life. For a brief period of time, Lily even considered the possibility of him being under the _Ipmerio_ spell. Nonetheless, a week into school and about three corridor patrols later, she was still confounded. That Friday night, Lily sat in her room and discussed this fact with her best friend, Lottie.

"I just don't get it," sighed Lily, "He's been acting so different, it can't be normal! And not once has he even _tried_ to make a move on me."

At this statement, Lottie's eyes grew wide in disbelief. "Not at all?!" Lily's affirming nod put the case to rest. "Well maybe," Lottie began to suggest, "Maybe he really has changed. It is time for all of us to get serious about our futures, even though we know someone who never will…" – it was Sirius Black – "It's possible that James just, ya know, decided to do just that!"

"I guess... Either way, it's pretty nice." Lily's eyes glazed over and gained a dreamy look to them. Lottie observed and laughed.

"If I didn't know you any better," she said, "I'd think you've developed a little crush on Potter."

"What!? No! That's totally wrong."

"Suit yourself," replied Lottie, returning to her schoolwork.

For awhile Lily mulled this idea over in her head. There was no way she could ever be attracted to _James Potter._ The boy who tormented her for six years. But there was still no explanation for his changed behavior. Then, because of her already large mountain of homework, she decided to simply drop all thoughts of the boy and accept Lottie's theory of his maturity. It made sense and was a reasonable explanation, so why not? James Potter had just grown up finally. Although, Lily did kind of miss his almost suffocating affection… Not that she would admit that to anyone.

A few hours later, Lily was hanging out with the seventh year girls in the Gryffindor common room. Among them was Mary Macdonald, who was a sweet girl, but would not stop talking about her Divinations class. Soon, however, she was on to a new topic. Lily couldn't tell if she was grateful or not. "So Lily, what it's like being Head Girl with James Potter?" inquired Mary. "He's so cute, I bet everyone in this entire school is jealous."

Speechless, Lily shrugged. She wished that she had some juicy gossip to spill, but all she could say was, "It's fine. Potter is a good Head Boy."

Mary rolled her eyes as if to say, " _Boooorrring_ ," and the other girls of the group solemnly noddeed along.

They remained quiet for quite some time, until a certain messy-haired boy approached them. He coughed quietly, to gain their attention. When Lily looked up to see his blush, she realized how uncharacteristic it was. "Hello, James," she greeted, "What's up?"

"Uh…" started James, "Is it okay if we go over there and talk?" He gestured to vacated couches by the fireplace. Lily nodded and the two went to sit on the cozy, red love-seat. "So, I'm taking Charms this year by some miracle of my O.W.L.'s, but I'm really struggling." James paused, looking unsure of what to say next.

"Go on," prodded Lily. As James gathered his thoughts, all she could think about was how weird James was being. At any other time he would be oozing confidence and cool, the kind of qualities that had girls swooning over his winks.

"Well, I would normally ask Moony for this kind of help, but he's really been struggling lately and there's a full moon coming up…" James flew his hand through his hair a couple times. Just because Lily had pretty much loathed James for the past six years didn't mean that their friend groups wouldn't eventually merge. There are only so many people at Hogwarts, and Lily and Lottie found that the Marauders weren't so bad after all. At least, for conversation. This was why Lily knew about Remus' condition, and even gave him some tips about making it easier for him.

"What are you asking, James?"

"Um, okay… Will you tutor me in Charms? It's just that, you're really good at it and I need it to become an Auror. I can't get anything lower than Dreadful, or my mum will have my head!" And then, finally, James made a very James Potter statement, "And you and I both know we can't have this handsome face and luscious locks on a dinner plate!"

Lily's giggles covered her sigh of relief. Perhaps the old, charming James was still there. But not entirely, and she wished she knew why. Despite all that, Lily agreed to tutoring him. If he was brave enough to ask her, of all people, then she couldn't turn the poor boy down. They arranged to meet three times a week, after every time they had the class. Lily was conveniently free at that time in the day on those days, and decided that it would be best to study while the information was fresh in his mind. Ideas about tutoring James, and of course her own homework, occupied her brain until Monday, when they would meet again for his first session.

That Monday ended up holding a plethora of surprises. The first has to do with Lottie Quincy and Sirius Black. Since they were friends and just had a double class of Potions together, they decided to head to the Great Hall for lunch. As they walked up staircase after staircase, and down corridor after corridor, Lottie made many observations about her friend Sirius. One was that he said "hi" to nearly every girl they passed that was above the age of fifteen. Another was that he really was devastatingly handsome. Lottie could understand why girls liked him. Sirius was attractive, but not in the way his best friend James was. Lottie could guess that it was because Sirius had an aura of real danger and emotional baggage which, for some odd reason, girls found very sexy. James' confidence, good looks, and sweet talk could hardly compare sometimes.

When they finally sat down at the Gryffindor table, Lottie decided to broach the topic of his best friend. Instead of wading into it, she just plunged right into the freezing water. "What's up with James?" she asked.

Sirius, who was busy stuffing his face with a mince pie, merely shrugged. "What do you mean?" he mumbled through a mouthful of meat.

"Oh quit the act," growled Lottie, rolling her eyes and swatting his arm. "You're his bloody best mate, you know what I mean. James has been acting… Weird. Not himself. Like an actual adult."

Sirius' eyes widened, as if he realized what she was talking about. Then, he attempted to shut it down quickly. "Oh that? Yeah, it's nothing. He's just realized that, yanno, seventh year and all. Better give up on torturing ol' Snivelly. Also… Er… N.E.W.T.s… And maybe he thinks that Evans might finally fall for him." That last bit was a flat-out lie, but couldn't be denied by anyone who knew James.

This was a convincing and totally believable lie. It made sense for him to still try to win over the supposed "love of his life." However, Lottie recalled the words that Lily spoke to her just a few days before: "And not once has he even _tried_ to make a move on me." Could this be a part of the act, too? Lottie scoffed at herself: not a chance in hell! She moved closer to Sirius and spoke quietly in his face, "That was the most pathetic lie I've ever heard from someone who's supposed to be a well-known troublemaker here. So, we can have it one way, or" – Lottie pointed her want at Sirius to prove a point (it wasn't as if she would actually do anything harmful, just a silly little hex) – "we can have it another."

It was enough to scare Sirius, because he visibly gulped. "Please not my face. Don't you want me to have a happy life? I can't have that without girls swooning over me every two seconds!"

Lottie was not amused.

"Okay, listen," sighed Sirius. "I'll tell you, but you have to swear to me that you will not tell anyone. Especially not Macdonald. I know you're mates and all but she's got kind of a big mouth. You have to swear that not a word will slip from your mouth about this. And you _really_ can't tell Lily."

"That's a tall order.. But okay, fine. Now spill the beans, Black!"

"Alright well, over the summer, James' parents sat him down at their kitchen table and started talking all about the importance of bloodlines. Usually, they're pretty relaxed about the whole intermarriage thing, but for some reason they feel that James… needs to marry someone from another pureblood family. I think that they think it'll keep them safe from You-Know-Who. That's beside the point though. The thing is, it's really upset James, because he's really in love with Lily but realized he can't ever be with her. He doesn't want to win her over, just to have to break her heart. But he also doesn't wanna marry anyone else. His parents are thinking he should go for my cousin, Narcissa." At that statement, Sirius shivered in disgust. "James _definitely_ does not want to do that. Anyway, the whole situation has got him really stressed out and always thinking about the future."

All of this was a complete shock to Lottie. The Potters were forcing their son to marry a pureblood? She was trying to absorb all this new information when Sirius interrupted. "They said that if he doesn't find a nice pureblood girl to marry by the end of the year, then…" He paused, unwilling to continue. Lottie prodded him on, desperate to know. "Well," he continued, "then they're going to arrange a marriage for him. Most likely to my cousin. I mean, I'd love to have James in the family, but not like that, that's for bloody hell sure."

"Oh Merlin…" said Lottie. "I just… I don't know what to say. I think I have to go." She got up and practically ran out of the Great Hall, with Sirius' warning not to tell anyone fading in the background. This was so much information about James, and all of it was totally unexpected. An arranged marriage? Even though he was annoying, Lottie realized that she always expected Lily to end up with him. But now that possibility was gone. Poof. She had to tell her friend. Lottie was walking through the corridors at a fast pace, determined to inform Lily, despite Sirius' pleading. Suddenly, she stopped. She was staring at the stairs, ready to climb them to Gryffindor Tower. However, a thought tugged at the back of her mind: Perhaps it's in Lily's best interest that she didn't know about James' fate. It's not like Lily even liked the boy, so what was there to worry about?

It was then decided in Lottie's mind that she wouldn't tell Lily. The girl was better off without the knowledge. In fact, life would just continue on normally, for pretty much everyone except James.

The second surprise of the day occurred that night, when Lily and James were walking the corridors together, patrolling for any suspicious activity and enjoying each other's company.

"Thanks again, for tutoring me today and everything," said James with a shy smile.

"No problem," replied Lily, "You asked so nicely, how could I resist? Plus, your Charms work really is awful."

They laughed and talked for awhile, until they ran into their least favorite people. Severus Snape was standing by a classroom door and it looked as if he was arguing with his two brutes, Mulciber and Avery, about something. "Stop being such a prissy girl," hissed Snape.

"Excuse me," said James loudly, "What exactly is going on here?"

Lily was shocked at his authoritative tone. It seemed as if he was genuinely not trying to pick a fight. A small spark ignited in her heart at this thought, but was gone a second later. She could never in a million years be attracted to James Potter.

"What's it to you?" answered Snape. "I'm not afraid of you anymore."

"Severus, just cut it out and move your little Death Eater meeting somewhere else, please. Perhaps in the Slytherin dungeons?" said Lily.

Snape looked at her as if he had noticed her presence for the first time. His look was longing and wistful, and one could easily tell how much he wanted Lily. "Oh, Lily," he said, "I– it's not– how was your summer?"

"Fine, not that my life matters to you anymore," quipped Lily.

"I'm really sorry, about everything. I… I miss you a lot." Mulciber and Avery rolled their eyes and tapped their feet impatiently. Snape glared at them to stop it.

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you called me that horrible name–"

"That was two years ago, Lily. I–"

"Listen, Snape. Clearly Lily is not interested in talking to you and we have to get back to our duties. Please just leave her alone and move along, away from this empty classroom so we can say that you weren't trying to cause any trouble."

Lily, Snape, and even Mulciber and Avery just stared at James. They couldn't believe he had said something so civil and yet so demanding. Stunned, Mulciber and Avery booked it away from the hallway. Snape, who gave one last longing glance at Lily, took off after them, walking swiftly so his robes swished around his legs.

"Wow, James, that was…" started Lily.

"Just doing my job," said James. He gave a little bow to lighten the mood. It worked: Lily laughed and they continued their patrols. She couldn't help but think about how noble James was. He passed up the opportunity to taunt the person he loved to tease the most. Instead, he defended her while executing flawless Head Boy authority. It was all very impressive and totally unbelievable to Lily. Maybe that's why she was so pleased.

At the end of the night, when the two returned from their duties and were parting ways in the Gryffindor common room, Lily did something completely spontaneous.

"Hey James," she said as he grabbed his wrist lightly, "Thank you for defending me in front of Snape tonight. It was very sweet." Then, very quickly, she stood on her tippy toes and kissed James on his cheek. Before he could say anything, Lily hurriedly ran off and up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

A warm glow radiated throughout James' body from where Lily's lips brushed against his cheek. She smelled lightly of vanilla, one of his favorite scents. All of his feelings for her rushed back to him at once, then faded to dull pain when he remembered his horrible secret. He could never have Lily, not the way he wanted. He wanted Lily to be his, for the rest of her life. But that just wasn't possible now.

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 **A/N:** Things are starting to pick up a bit, woohoo! Hopefully they really start moving in these next chapters. Until next time! ~Lia


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Hello! Yes it is me with another chapter! Sorry this one is so short but I promise, I have them planned to start getting longer. :) So please enjoy & if you like it, review! Love, Lia

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It was only the second weekend of school, but all of the seventh years at Hogwarts were already bogged down with mountains of homework. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all sitting in their dormitory reading and writing on their beds. The floor was littered by balls of rejected, crumpled up pieces of parchment and broken quills.

"This is ridiculous!" shouted Sirius, "I can't do this anymore. It's a Saturday night, we should be out having fun instead of cooped up in here doing _homework_."

Remus rolled his tired eyes at this statement. "We're supposed to be preparing for our future careers," he said in a raspy voice.

Sirius looked over at Remus and shrugged. "I guess," he replied, "But we need at least a little time for fun! It's a Saturday night, for Merlin's sake."

"Moony," said James, changing the subject, "Are you alright? You're looking a little rough, man."

Immediately, they all checked the calendar hanging on the back of their door. It was almost time for the full moon. Remus let out a heavy sigh. "It falls on a weekday, how wonderful is that?" he said.

"It's alright," said Sirius, "We'll be there for you. We always are!" Peter, who had been absorbed in his Herbology homework, sat up and nodded vigorously in agreement.

Remus smiled. His great appreciation for his closest friends blossomed out of his chest. It was impossible to imagine life without the Marauders. He reflected on their fifth year, when his friends were able to successfully transform into illegal Animagi and accompany him on his monthly trips to the shack in Hogsmeade. They made his transformations far less painful and maybe even a little enjoyable.

Just a few moments later, before any other words could be spoken, their fifth roommate Frank Longbottom swaggered in. Though he was slightly short, thin, and an overall a small person, his attitude was very jaunty. It had been that way since he started dating his girlfriend, Alice, but no one minded since he was still probably the most kind person that anyone had ever met. "Hey guys, what's – wait, are you all doing homework? On a Saturday night?" Frank's eyes were practically the size of the upcoming full moon.

The boys looked at each other and nodded guiltily. James couldn't help but think of how Lily would be proud. And thinking of Lily brought his attention to the kiss she gave him the previous Monday night. Granted, it was only on the cheek, but the following days were pure bliss for him. Lily was much warmer and even friendly to James. His desire for her filled his whole body and he forgot all about what awaited him in the summer. James found himself wanting to spend every minute of the day with Lily, and his feelings now were stronger than they ever were in previous years. But the idea of an arranged marriage was always haunting him, hanging over him like a rain cloud that wouldn't leave. The thought was paining him, because all he wanted was the redhead in the dormitory just across the tower.

"Well," said Frank, "Some seventh year Ravenclaws are having a 'small' party in the Room of Requirement and since they're, ya know, Ravenclaws, there's no way it'll get busted."

The Marauders looked back and forth at each other. James glanced at the Head Boy badge that sat on his bedside table. Then, he decided to disregard it, "Let's do it!"

Remus shook his head, "I think I'll stay in tonight. I have to ask Lily about our Potions essay, anyway."

"Suit yourself, Moony," said Sirius.

They all dressed quickly, as it was already almost midnight, and headed down the stairs to the common room. There were only a few people by the fire and a few first years in the corner playing wizard chess. As they exited the portrait hole and began walking the corridor, a sudden thought occurred to Peter.

"Prongs, are you sure you should be going to this party? You're Head Boy, after all," he said.

James clapped an arm around his short, chubby friend. "Wormtail, my man," he said jovially, "I'm just trying to forget for a little, that's all. Lily doesn't even have to know."

"Okay…" replied Peter, unconvinced.

The four soon found themselves in the seventh floor corridor and pacing back and forth. "What should we be thinking of?" asked Peter.

Frank stopped, puzzled. "I guess a place to have fun on a Saturday night?"

Sirius, who was still walking around, said, "That's a little vague, isn't it?"

"Well what else would it be?" said Frank, exasperated. "I'm supposed to be meeting Alice in there. What if she thinks I've stood her up?"

James laughed, "You've been dating for over a year now, I don't think she'll think you stood her up."

Suddenly, a door with a slat about eye level appeared. Sirius smirked and knocked loudly on it. The eye slat slid open and a mouth appeared. The boys all grinned at each other as the mouth said, "Password?"

Frank took the opportunity to actually know something, "It's not over 'till the Fat Lady sings." Their smiled broadened, thinking of how classy it was for the Ravenclaws to choose such a password.

The large metal door swung open and the boys were sucked in with a blink of the eye. The Room of Requirement had really outdone itself this time. It was dark and hard to see anything; only the different-colored flashing lights provided any help. The music was loud and vibrated everything, courtesy of a band of Hufflepuff boys on stage. Students everywhere, out of their school robes, were holding cups filled with alcohol from a table along one of the walls. James whistled to himself and wondered how it was they were even able to get away with such things. How did the Ravenclaws even smuggle this much alcohol into the school? It was truly an amazing feat.

"This is awesome," said Sirius, shouting over the music. "Frank, you rule!" With those as his final words, Sirius was whisked away by a cute Hufflepuff to dance in the middle of the floor. James and Peter walked together to the alcohol, where a Slytherin boy was lining up shots for a large group of people. James signaled to have one himself, and they downed the vodka all together. Peter simply threw his over his shoulder, as alcohol made him nervous. Then again, everything made him nervous.

James poured himself a cup of whiskey and drank it much too fast. He joined another group taking shots, and then another. He was about four drinks and five shots in of hard liquor when Peter attempted to warn him. "Maybe you should slow down, Prongs," he said feebly.

James simply shrugged off his friend and continued to drink. Eventually, he stumbled into the middle of the floor and joined Sirius and Frank. Frank was staring at his girlfriend in shock as her curvy body moved around him in a blatantly sexual way. A pretty blond approached James and asked him to dance. He agreed, though he couldn't remember which house she was in. It must be all the alcohol clouding his brain. The edges of everything were slightly burred and covered in a euphoric blanket. The girl James was dancing with was beautiful, but his mind kept wandering to a redheaded girl who must be in the common room studying with Remus. Soon, she consumed all of his thoughts and the girl that he was dancing with disgusted him. The whole party disgusted him.

"Hey, Pads," he shouted to his friend a few people over. "I'm gonna head out."

"Alright, see you later then," replied Sirius. He seemed much too preoccupied to care.

James waded his clumsy way through the sea of people and stumbled through the heavy metal door. The seventh floor corridor was silent, and it was hard to believe that there were masses of people just behind the wall. James checked his watch and saw that it was only one-thirty in the morning, and he was shocked that he didn't spend longer at the party. He hoped it was still too late enough for any professor, cat (Mrs. Norris), or ghost to be wandering the hallway.

By some miracle, James had made his silent way to the portrait of the Fat Lady without being spotted. Though he was still heavily intoxicated, James managed to slur the password and enter the common room. A vision of Lily Evans entered his mind, and he realized very suddenly that he needed to see her. The common room was quite empty, except for two small first years sharing a large armchair by the fire. He approached them, turning on his megawatt charm and ruffling his hair.

As soon as they recognized him, the two girls blushed and one of them giggled. "Hi James," the one to his left said.

"Hi, can you two do me a favor?" he purred, attempting to dazzle them despite his state. It worked, however, and he managed to convince the two first years to bring Lily down to him.

A few minutes later, Lily approached him sitting on the couch. "James?" she said, her eyes wide with shock. "What _are_ you doing?"

James jumped him and smiled, though he swayed on his feet slightly. "Hi," he said, "I wanted to see you."

Lily was appalled at his smelly breath and disheveled state. "What in Merlin's name have you been up to!?" she said in a whisper-shout. Her eyes were livid. "You reek of alcohol! You do realize that, as Head Boy, you can't be participating in such blatant rule breaking. You can't act like this! Or you should at least try to cover it up better and not bother poor little first years while you're drunk." She couldn't believe that she had actually thought James Potter changed and was more mature. Lily guessed she should have known better.

James was ignoring her tirade, however. In his drunken haze, all he could pay attention to was how beautiful she was, even when angry. Her words, despite their aggressive nature, were like honey in his ears. "I like when you talk," he slurred randomly.

Lily paused, "– What?"

"I also like when you don't talk." Suddenly, James found himself leaning in close to Lily. He rested a hand on her waist and pulled her closer to him. Lily didn't dare to resist, because James had an intoxicating effect to him, even when he himself was drunk off his arse.

"James," began Lily, "what are y–"

And then it happened. The moment James had been waiting for since practically their first year at Hogwarts, and the moment Lily didn't know she secretly desired, too. As soon as their lips touched, bolts of electricity zinged through both of their bodies. Lily gasped as she felt the need in the movement of James' lips. She felt as if the floor had slipped away from her and she was falling, except… She was enjoying the sensation.

James was breathless when Lily finally broke them apart. Her eyes were wide and her lips were swollen. Her red hair was mussed up, as was the rest of her. The two shared a tense moment of silence while James waited for Lily's reaction. The room shifted around him through his inebriated fog. _Did that really just happen?_ he thought to himself.

Finally, Lily said shakily, "I have to go to bed now, and I think you should, too, Potter." With that, she marched up the stairs, tears beginning to pool on her lower eyelid.

Those words stung James, because they were not what he was expecting. She called him _Potter_. Lily only did that when she was mad at him. But the way she physically responded to his kiss showed no indication of anger. In fact, James thought it to be quite the opposite. He sat on the plush couch in front of the fire, rejection burning through his brain. The fire crackled as it began to sputter out slowly. James sat, thinking about Lily. He wouldn't be able to get some alone time with her until their next tutoring session, but he wasn't sure he could wait that long for some answers from her. What kind of response was, "I have to go to bed?" His thoughts whirled around in his head until he was completely sober and what remained of the fire was only embers.

The next morning James spoke to Sirius at breakfast about the previous night. Remus was still in bed, and only Merlin knew what Peter did when he was off alone. So James swallowed his eggs and turned to his best friend with a look of guilt. "I kissed Lily," he said simply.

Sirius looked at him with a slightly bemused expression. Then, it gained a small trace of amusement. "Nice one, Prongs," he replied, "How'd she like it?"

"Not sure, she just said that she was going to bed."

The tone of the conversation quickly lost all hints of playfulness as Sirius set down his fork. He looked at James with an expression that would give Professor McGonagall a run for her money. "James" – Sirius almost never used his real name – "you know I want you to be happy. I've been rooting for you and Evans all along. But I don't think you should do this."

James looked offended. "Do _what_?" he inquired.

"I think it's best if you just leave Evans alone. You know what's coming for you when June comes around."

Sirius patted his friend on the shoulder as he continued to devour his waffle. James shrugged, "I guess you're right." But he was only agreeing on the surface. James' resolve to win Lily over had just become stronger than ever.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Finally! I should hopefully be writing more regularly now that I'm out of school for the summer. I'm currently rereading the Harry Potter books, they're so great. I just finished Order of the Phoenix and it really inspired my creative juices. This chapter is a little bit longer so hopefully that's good! I'm still going to try to keep making them longer so hopefully that works. Unless you don't mind short chapters! Anyway without further ado, chapter 4! Pce & blessins ~ Lia

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It would be a few days before James was be able to speak Lily again, and it would be for his tutoring session after their class together. He wasn't sure if she was avoiding him after his drunken actions, but James found that he couldn't blame her. That night he was so desperate to get Lily off his mind, but somehow ended up snogging her instead. However, amidst all of his worries, James couldn't bring himself to regret what he did. It was something first-year-James had only dreamed of. And now, as he traveled down the staircase headed to the library, James felt flutters in his stomach. Flutters that he'd been trying to suppress for the past month.

Lily was already there waiting at a table, staring at the neat stack of books in front of her, for she had bolted out of Charms as fast as she could. Normally she and James would walk together, but Lily felt that she needed all the seconds she could get to prepare herself. She kept running her hand through her red hair and biting her lip, releasing a sigh every now and then. James was wondering what was on her mind as he walked, but Lily hardly knew herself. She was confused about Potter and what he was playing at. Ever since the train ride to school, James had been different. It was almost a nice change, to see James show a bit of maturity, but his romantic indifference towards Lily had been a little hard for her to swallow – she had grown used to and maybe even a little fond of his flirtatious attitude. His drunken kiss sent Lily's head reeling on a rollercoaster of confused emotions. It made it extremely difficult for her to focus on anything school related, even in the library, and it didn't help that Lily hadn't seen James since that night. Was he avoiding her? Had he realized that the kiss was a complete mistake?

Finally, James walked into the library. It was silent and peaceful – the exact opposite of how James was feeling at the moment. He doubted that he would be able to remember what the lesson was on, much less talk calmly to Lily about it. After several deep breaths, James had finally reached the table Lily was sitting at. "Hey Evans," he gulped.

Lily's right eyebrow raised high as she said, "Evans? You haven't called me that since last year… I was beginning to worry." Her joke lightened the mood, thankfully, and James sat down feeling considerably more relaxed.

About a half hour went by as the two chatted amicably about Charms and the weather, the House Cup and their friends. However, not one word was mentioned about the incident of Saturday night. Lily acted as if everything was perfectly fine, though she did seem a bit off. She skirted around anything that could possibly have to do with alcohol or romance. This frustrated James, because he couldn't understand why Lily was pretending that nothing had happened. Though it certainly was a tricky subject to talk about it, James felt it was a pretty significant event and should be discussed.

Having had enough, James stood quite suddenly and made Lily jump. There was a slightly frightened look on her face as she stared at James. "Follow me," he said.

Despite several groups of students staring and against her gut feeling, Lily followed James. She examined the back of his head as he lead them to a corner of the library where the dust on the shelves lay thickly and the closest person was out of earshot. "What are doing, James?" asked Lily, examining the titles of books as they walked. Then, all at once, they weren't moving and Lily walked straight into James. His arms moved around her waist as she looked up at him. Lily realized that she had never really seen James this close before, and she saw what made girls swoon. His brown eyes looked as sweet as chocolate, framed in long, thick eyelashes that reminded Lily of his hair. There was a light smattering of freckles across James' nose that would only be noticed if one was as close as Lily was at that moment. His wireframe glasses sat slightly crooked on his face, and his lips were soft and inviting. Lily inhaled deeply, unable to stop herself from staring at the boy in front of her.

Then, without either of them realizing just how close to each other they really were, their lips were touching. All of the feelings that James tried to pretend didn't exist flooded into his head. A warm feeling spread throughout his body that just felt _right_. Lily felt as if she were going to melt into a puddle. In that moment she realized that she wanted James, and had this whole time. Even before September, when he was up to his no good antiques and chasing after her. Lily realized that, deep down, their connection was real and undeniable.

They both finally let go of their inhibitions, practically snogging each other senseless in their corner of the library. But after a few very short minutes, Lily realized that maybe it was her hormones talking. This was James Potter. He's probably kissed dozens of girls in this very spot. And even if he hadn't, it wasn't right. They were Head Boy and Girl. Seeking a romantic relationship is inappropriate. _James_ is inappropriate. He was still an immature git who acted irresponsibly and irrationally, exemplified by his foolish actions on Saturday night. Lily finally pulled away from James' arms and bit back tears. She couldn't believe how confused she felt, when she was telling herself one thing but wholeheartedly believed another. "James," croaked Lily, "We shouldn't... I'm so sorry…"

Bewildered, James simply watched Lily walk away swiftly. He didn't quite understand what just happened, or why Lily had rejected him. In fact, James felt that things had been going quite well. His lips still felt the whisper of Lily's kisses as he leaned against the bookshelf and ran a hand through his dark hair, releasing a heavy sigh. Then, the bite of rejection settled in. The thought of having come so close to what he's wanted for so long, just to have Lily say no. If she was going to follow her goody-two-shoes instincts in the end, they why the hell did she kiss him again? Why did she make him think that maybe they had a shot at something more? James spent a month smothering and denying his feelings, and he should have just kept it that way.

Lily walked dazedly through the corridors and returned to her room in Gryffindor Tower, where her friend Lottie stood in front of the mirror messing with her hair. She dumped it in a pile on top of her head, then let it flow down to frame her face beautifully with an exasperated sigh. "I just want something new. Maybe I should cut it?" said Lottie to the air. She turned to look at her friend, who had tears streaking down her cheeks. "Oh Merlin, Lily! What happened? Are you okay?"

"It's J-James," replied Lily shakily. "H-he kissed me again a-and… I-I just feel so… confused. W-w-what sh-should I d-dooo?"

Lottie's eyes widened as she bit her tongue. That wretched Potter. How could he kiss Lily when he very well knows that he's already engaged to be married? After treating Lily so oddly since school began, then just springing these feelings on her, Lottie felt that she would be crying, too, if it were her in this situation. She had half a nerve to tell Lily what a git James really was, but Sirius' pleading sprang to the front of Lottie's thoughts. A split second later, she firmly decided that she would still not reveal James' secret to Lily. That was more hurt than she needed. So, instead, Lottie resolved to simply console her friend. "Potter's an arse, anyway," she said as she wrapped her arms around her friend, "He's not worth the trouble and he doesn't deserve your tears."

Lily shrugged at that, for she couldn't feel so sure about it. Why did the earthquake in her stomach tell her differently?

A few more weeks had passed and everything seemed to return to how it was before James' sudden transformation. He was dealing with Lily's rejection poorly, and had gone back to hexing innocents and snogging nearly every girl at Hogwarts in between spells. Sirius was a little glad to have some reckless fun back in his life, but seemed overall tired of it. One night, while James was off abusing his powers as Head Boy, Sirius lay exhausted on his bed, with Remus and Peter in theirs. "You know," he said, "I think I may be getting too old for this."

Remus chortled and replied, "Tired of your old antics?"

"Don't get me wrong, I love sending a good curse towards dear ol' Snivelly," said Sirius, "But it takes up so much time and energy. And with our N.E.W.T.s to worry about this year, not to mention facing our entire future… It seems kinda trivial. Plus, look at all this homework I've got! Three feet of parchment for History of Magic! Now you tell me if I've got time to waste on torturing some useless third year."

Before anyone had the chance to reply, the door to their dormitory flew open and revealed Lottie. She stood there panting, her hair a disheveled mess. "Hi," she breathed and bent over, putting her hands on her knees. "It's Lily – she – is crying in a broom closet. Remus – I thought you might be able to help."

"Sure," replied Remus as he flung himself off his bed. He was rooting through his trunk to find chocolate while Sirius spoke.

"Evans doesn't wanna see me?"

Lottie rolled her eyes, still breathing pretty heavily. "Sorry, Sirius, but you're not exactly the most sensitive bloke here. Plus, you don't have a steady supply of chocolate." She smiled and shoved the piece that Remus offered her into her mouth.

Sirius merely shrugged and got up anyway, "I guess I better go see what Prongs is up to." With that, he loped out of the room. Shortly after, Lottie and Remus followed his steps, leaving Peter behind.

A few days after Lottie requested Remus' help, Lily and Remus were constantly in each other's company. It was a relief for Lily to have someone to talk to about James. Remus was one of his best friends, so he offered a perspective that Lottie couldn't. He was always kind and understanding, not to mention always feeding her chocolate. During break one day they lounged in the courtyard together, in the cool October air. They had just witnessed James chasing a girl with blonde curly hair around on the cobblestone and then disappear with her behind a door.

Lily sighed and said, "I hate that boy."

Remus took the chance to fulfill his curious thoughts. "What exactly happened with you two?" Though he was fully aware of James' arranged marriage situation, he wanted to hear Lily's side of things.

"Well…" said Lily. She then launched into an explanation of the past two months. How she thought she might be attracted to James, but that he was acting so indifferent towards her. It was really nice to see him acting so maturely, but then he kissed her after acting like a complete and utter fool, shirking his Head Boy responsibility. That kiss stirred feelings in Lily that she had been trying to suppress, but his other actions reminded her of how cruel he was, or maybe still is, in all of their previous years, like how he would set hexes on people for merely annoying him. This contradiction of thought and feelings only confused Lily, and when James kissed her again in the library, she was sent into even more confusion. She couldn't possibly understand him, or like him. He was so arrogant, but his lips were so soft…

Remus' slightly uncomfortable cough brought Lily out of her reverie. "Sorry," she said quickly.

"It's alright," replied Remus. He looked at Lily and felt a small stab of pity. How could James put her through all of this? Especially now, with the way that he was acting. Because James had decided to act exactly how he had for the previous six years and ignore all responsibility, Lily was handling the jobs of Head Boy and Girl all by herself. However, Remus was stepping up more, lately, to offer Lily assistance whenever she needed. They were together very often, but luckily for them, each enjoyed being with the other.

"Why can't he just be more like you?" inquired Lily suddenly.

Remus laughed and shrugged, "Beats me. I guess it'd be boring if everyone were the same, though, don't you think? People like James and Sirius add a little spice to life, I guess…"

His thought trailed off as both he and Lily observed James stumbling out from behind the door he had previously entered, his hair significantly more fussed and his cheeks bright pink. Soon after the blonde-haired girl scurried out with a wide smile and halfway undone robes.

"Yeah," replied Lily, sarcastically, "Who doesn't love spice?"

That night, all of the prefects met in an empty classroom so that Lily could review their duties for the weekend. It was almost Halloween, which meant the annual Halloween feast and decorating the castle for the holiday. As with any similar task, the prefects had the duty of overseeing the actual decorating, because Peeves had a tendency to slow the process. Lily was assigning shifts of pairs to watch out for the infamous poltergeist while the others helped float Jack-O-lanterns and change candles. She stood at the front of the room, listing the times and people off of a piece of parchment by herself. Occasionally, she would twirl a strand of red hair around her finger out of habit. For the past three meetings, James was late. Lily did not expect this one to be any different, and James did not disappoint.

After twenty minutes had gone by, James strolled through the door with his usual cocky swagger. Lily sighed heavily and silently prayed for strength while he took his place next to her. "I'm so sorry, Evans, everyone else," he said, ruffling his hair. "I was… attending to a student's needs." James sent a quick wink to Remus, who merely rolled his eyes.

Lily thought that her head might blow off. She turned angrily to James and said through gritted teeth, "James, would you mind stepping out into the hallway with me? We have some private Head Boy and Girl business to discuss…"

"Much obliged," replied James. He bowed sarcastically to the rest of the prefects and stepped back through the door that he had just come in.

As soon as the two were in the corridor, Lily grabbed James' hand and lead him further away from the empty classroom, so the people inside would not hear her lose her temper. However, this small amount of contact between them jolted the feelings back into James. The feelings of caring and warmth that he'd been really trying to forget. Lily's touch felt like electricity, and it felt good.

However, those feelings were momentarily replaced by a little bit of fear as Lily stopped suddenly and rounded on James. "What is your problem?!" she shouted, "I'm sorry that I don't think we should be seeking a romantic relationship, given our positions as Head Boy and Girl, and our history – which involves you being blatantly arrogant and rude. But that doesn't mean you should turn into a dolt! You're neglecting about your duties, you've completely abandoned my Charms tutoring – how are you doing in that class, anyway? – and you're just the same prick you've always been! I really thought you changed." A look of sadness flashed across her emerald eyes.

"Well it seems that I haven't," replied James sharply.

"I'm sorry to hear that, then, but could you please make an attempt to be less of an arse and maybe try to be a decent Head Boy? I'm tired of doing all of this by myself."

"Of course, Red."

Lily seethed. Where does he get off thinking he can just give her a nickname? And a stupid one, at that. "DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

They both made the short trip back down the corried and back into the classroom. Lily was fuming mad, and James seemed hardly affected as he toyed with a Snitch for the remainder of the meeting.

Back in their dorm, Remus was silent and James tried to vent about Lily. However, even a complete idiot could see that James was secretly pleased that Lily had finally talked to him, even if it was to reprimand him. Anyone could tell that the brief moment of physical contact they shared had made James' week, or even his whole month depending on how things went. Despite this, he continued to complain and pace around the room: "She made me feel like a fool. Like a little kid again. You know, Lily calls _me_ arrogant, but she's just as full of herself! Acting like she runs the whole school or something. I mean, doesn't she realize that's Dumbledore's job? And then I tried to lighten the mood by giving her a nickname and –"

"James," snapped Remus, "That's enough."

Peter, who had also been quiet the whole time, let out something that sounded like a whimper. James looked bewildered. " 'Scuse me?" he said.

"Can't you see you're tearing Lily apart? She spends every day worrying about school and her family. You've just gone and added to her stress for no good reason."

"Yeah well, she rejected me." James glared at Remus from across their room, who was sitting on the edge of his bed.

"That's because you're confusing her, and she doesn't know what to do. Your actions and feelings have been all over the place and it's no help."

"And you know this because… you spend every bloody day together? What, are you two best mates now? Don't tell me you're falling for her."

Remus laughed bitterly, "Don't be ridiculous, Prongs. Get your head out of your arse and see that Lily likes you, finally! But you've been too much of an idiotic prick and have scared her off. No one wants to be with someone who's made them cry every day."

His words seemed to finally get through to James, who fell to the floor and leaned against their chest of drawers. The look on his face made it seem like James had a revelation. If he had a real shot with Lily, then maybe he really should stop being such a git. Maybe he should stop trying to suppress his feelings for Lily. He hadn't before, so why did he stop now? Oh right, an arranged marriage… But none of that mattered. If his parents met Lily, and saw how much of an amazing girl she was, James was confident he could make it work. He just had to win Lily over and prove that his relapse of character was a permanent thing of the past. Other than that, his only problem was: How?

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 **A/N:** So that's it! Hopefully it suits your fancies. Please please review and maybe perhaps the next chapter will come along soon ;) love, LIa


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Omg it took me awhile but I finally finished this chapter. It's pretty long  & I'm actually really proud of it so I hope you like it! Please review & let me know what you think. I hope it's not too far fetched or ridiculous I just am trying to create a nice slightly dynamic storyline. Ok enough rambling enjoy pls thnx luv lia3

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At last the cool air had settled around Hogwarts castle. Cold winds blustered across its grounds, making its way through every crack or crevice, making the corridors considerably more chilly than a few weeks previously. Students took up the habit of wearing wool scarves to their classes, just to keep warm. Anyone who was sensible stopped wandering outside during break, which meant that the responsibilities of the prefects were practically tripled. More students inside and occupying the corridors translated to more trouble. It was exhausting when added onto the piles of homework the prefects faced, as well as the regular onslaught of teenage woes.

However, it wasn't just the prefects affected as such. Even Sirius Black was feeling stressed by his school work, which was rare and unimaginable, but true. He was often spotted pleading with Remus for help or begging for notes from Lottie.

Despite the high stresses of school, James spent most of his time figuring out a way to gain Lily's forgiveness. He was also often spotted pestering Remus and Lottie for help, and usually to no avail. Lottie was under the pretense of ignoring James for Lily's sake, and Remus did not seem willing to contribute to his schemes. It was about two weeks, in mid-November, when he finally decided on something. It was a rather cold Tuesday morning and James was wearing a Gryffindor scarf, in the spirit of the upcoming quidditch match against Slytherin. He spotted Lily at breakfast quite easily, for her bright red hair was capped with a green knit hat that featured a fuzzy white ball at its tip. James stood for a second, staring at Lily, an odd feeling swelling in his chest. He figured it was because he was nervous; Lily was the only girl James was ever nervous about approaching.

"Hi, Lily," he said, gulping loudly.

Lily just continued to read her copy of _The Daily Prophet_ down the bridge of her nose. Lottie, who was scarfing down a pile of french toast paused to glance back and forth between the two. Then, she looked down the table to exchange a look of curiosity with Sirius. Finally Lily replied by simply saying, "Potter" almost inaudibly.

"I was wondering if we could maybe meet in the library today? So you could help me with Charms. I'm having issues with –"

"Sure," said Lily abruptly, "See you then."

Taking the hint, James swifty moved away to join the rest of his friends. He was breathing quickly and analyzing every bit of what had just happened. It certainly could have gone worse, but it also could have gone way better. A brief vision of Lily admitting her love for him and kissing him in front of the entire Great Hall flashed in his mind. Instead, James figured he should just settle for the fact that she hadn't completely rejected him and move on with the rest of his day.

However, this was proving more difficult than he anticipated. In every class, during his breaks and lunch, images and thoughts of his favorite redhead filled his brain. Even when he knew there were many other much worse things he could be worried about, or even the actual class he was in, James kept thinking of what he would say to Lily when they finally met up. The "worse things" had to with the fact that every day Remus approached James, Sirius, and Peter with a new issue of _The Daily Prophet_ and shared the latest tragedies committed by He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eater followers. While James could hardly admit this was his favorite part of the day, he was thankful for some outside information. Oftentimes Hogwarts presented itself as a perfect and safe bubble, and it made James feel cut off from the real world in an uneasy and ignorant way. But, yes, despite all of these things he could be worrying about, James only thought of Lily.

And just as surely as the sun would set and rise again in the next twenty-four hours, James and Lily walked silently next to each other after they had Charms together. Before they reached the library, however, Lily halted and turned to face James with her textbook pinned against her chest. "I've been thinking, Potter," –James never knew his surname could sting so badly– "since you've been doing exceptionally better in Charms, maybe we should just stop these sessions. You don't seem to need them anymore."

Trying to remain looking cold and distant, Lily stared at the base of James' neck, since it was right in front of her and she could not bear to look up at him. It was a hard decision, but she couldn't go through with seeing him so regularly. It was hard, and though he did halt his childish behavior for now, what was to keep him from picking it back up again?

Lily's suggestion hit James like a physical blow. How was he supposed to convince Lily to forgive him? He had a whole plan set in motion, and it was supposed to begin tonight. Throwing caution to the wind, he decided to proceed with what he intended anyway. "Please, Lily," he said with a hint of desperation that he couldn't hide. "You're the brightest witch of our year, I really do need your help. I'm only better because of you."

"Well–"

"Follow me," he stated abruptly. James took Lily's delicate hand in his large and slightly calloused one. He led her up the stairs they had just descended, through various corridors, and up even more stairs, until they found themselves at the door to the highest tower at Hogwarts.

"What are we doing here?" asked Lily, who was wondering why she had even let James bring her this far. The truth was that she was relishing in the warmth of his hand around hers.

"You'll see." With a smirk, James opened the door to reveal a very romantic set up. The setting sun washed everything in a calm, orange hue. On the floor, in the middle of some telescopes and other equipment, lay a tattered blanket with a picnic basket sitting on its corner. Candles had been lit and charmed to float in the air, like how the Jack-o-lanterns did for Halloween.

"What if we get caught?" asked Lily nervously.

"Don't worry." James winked at her as he pulled a folded piece of parchment out of his pocket and waved it in the air. Without explanation, he returned it to his robes and led Lily to sit next to him on the blanket he laid out.

"This is very sweet…" said Lily. For a moment, she was absorbed in her own thoughts, but was quickly pulled back to reality by James' voice.

"Consider this my formal apology," he said, gesturing around the room.

"Chocolate frogs and candles? Looks more like a romantic gesture," laughed Lily as she pulled a Chocolate Frog out of the basket James prepared.

At this, James simply shrugged and fussed up his hair. Lily rolled her eyes and said, "You hair looks just fine, so you can stop messing with it all the time."

"Sorry, it's kind of a habit now," he replied sheepishly. "Kinda like how you always tuck your hair behind your ear when you're doing schoolwork or taking an exam, even though it always falls right back."

Both Lily and James were startled that he'd noticed this about her. James couldn't believe he let that slip, but Lily's composure softened immeasurably and looked at James warmly. Then she leaned back onto her hands so that her fingertips were resting on top of James' and their shoulders were brushing together.

James turned his head to look at Lily, the most beautiful girl in the world. His heart was thumping hard in his chest, and faster than it ever had before, even including Quidditch matches. He spoke softly looking into her emerald eyes, "I really am sorry, Lily. For everything."

"It's okay, James," she said, "I actually think –"

Their peaceful bliss was interrupted by a loud alarm that seemed to sound all across the grounds of the school. Both Lily and James jumped up in an instant, shocked and a little terrified. "What is that?" shouted Lily over the blaring noise.

"I think an alarm. Who knew Hogwarts had one of those?"

"We need to go." Lily was slightly panicked now.

James nodded at her and with a wave of his wand, all traces that they were there disappeared. Then, he pulled that parchment back out of his robes, muttered something, and tapped it with his wand. Lily's eyes widened as she watched a detailed map of Hogwarts appear, with little black dots moving around like scurrying ants. "I can't really tell what's going on, but we'll be fine if we leave this tower without my cloak. Too many people running around to notice…"

Lily wondered why they would need a cloak to hide. If anything, it would make them more conspicuous. However, she hardly had time to think on this further, for James had clasped her hand in his again. Little bolts of electricity shot up Lily's arm from their contact and sent a pleasant tingly sensation through her body. Soon they were running down steps and more steps. When they reached the corridors, Dumbledore's voice boomed throughout Hogwarts, for a moment drowning out the deafening siren. "Students, professors, and ghosts, please meet in the Great Hall immediately."

Lily and James practically ran down corridors, shepherding stragglers as they went. "What do you think it could be?" asked Lily over the heads of the First Years they were bringing along.

"Not a clue," replied James, looking worried.

After what seemed like a lifetime –but really was only a seven minute walk– Lily, James, and their accumulated group finally made it to the Great Hall. The students they were with left to sit at their respective houses as the pair sat with the rest of the Gryffindors. Lily glanced around for Lottie but couldn't find her, and she also noticed that Sirius was missing. A pang of worry shot through her stomach. Most of the students seemed to be settled, chatting anxiously as the professors of Hogwarts walked in between the tables. At last, Dumbledore stood at the front, immediately silencing the entire hall.

"There has been an attack," he began. He paused for a minute to allow the gasps and other shocked reactions before continuing. "This attack came from a group of Death Eaters. How they got into the castle is something that is still under heavy investigation –nothing for you to be worrying about," added Dumbledore, as if he was reading the minds of the students. "For now, there will be an earlier, stricter curfew in place. Professors will be patrolling the halls between classes and at night. Please, I urge you to come forward with any information that you have. That's all I have to share for the moment. Now, the prefects will lead you back to your dormitories and explain in further detail the events that transpired tonight. They will be changing any passwords required for entry into your common rooms and will receive further instructions later on from our Head Boy and Girl. Please exit safely as your Head of Houses dismiss you."

One by one, each table rose and followed the prefects of each house back to their dorms. Lily and James marched in the opposite direction and approached Dumbledore as he oversaw the proceedings. "Please, follow me to my office," he said to them gravely.

Once they were in Dumbledore's office, James and Lily sat in front of his desk while while he paced back and forth. The sounds of his robes swishing mingled with several outcries from the portraits of the former headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts. "Well, I can't believe this actually happened," was heard and, "There was never an intrusion when I was Headmistress."

Dumbledore snapped at them, saying, "I don't know how they entered the school. All I know is that they swooped in on our students as they were eating dinner." Both Lily's and James' eyes widened. James was shocked, because this aggressive tone was very out of character for Dumbledore. Lily, however, had a realization.

"Lottie and Sirius," she said in a panicky tone, "They always eat dinner together on Tuesdays."

"Don't worry, Lily, they can handle themselves. I'm sure they're fine," said James reassuringly.

Finally, Dumbledore took a seat across from the worried teenagers. He touched his fingers together and perched his elbows on his desk as he said, "Mr. Potter is right. They are safe and sound in the hospital wing after sustaining minor injuries. They were among the few brave students to stand up to the Death Eaters before a professor could come scare them off."

"I don't understand," said Lily, "How did this happen…?"

"That is something we are all trying to figure out," replied Dumbledore. "But I do have a few good guesses."

"Well we know it wasn't Apparition..." said Lily. Her dark eyebrows knitted themselves together in thought.

"You're quite correct, Miss Evans. But that is not for you to worry about." James and Lily shot each other furtive glances, as they could tell Dumbledore was up to something. "I have tasks for you both to complete over the course of the next few weeks. Voldemort" –both James and Lily involuntarily cringed at the sound of this name– "is gaining strength. Your roles as Head Boy and Girl will become vital, and unfortunately your responsibilities will increase tremendously, to ensure the safety of everyone at this school. Miss Evans, as you are extremely gifted at Charms, I am asking you to gather a few students whose talents rival yours and pair up with Professor Flitwick. You will be casting stronger protection spells all around the grounds and the castle to ensure that an intrusion like this never happens again.."

James took Lily's hand as he heard her audibly gulp. He felt so bad for her, knowing that she feared for the safety of her own family. Her hand was so small and delicate in his own, and he could feel a small blister from when she was practicing her Charms homework. James felt his heart break a little, knowing how stressed out Lily was going to become.

"Mr. Potter," continued Dumbledore, "I hear that you excel quite well in Transfiguration, along with Messrs. Black, Pettigrew, and Lupin. Please, ah, assemble yourselves and meet with Professor McGonagall. She will have a few jobs for you to further strengthen the castle's defenses. I must also beg that you both keep these extra assignments to yourselves and those whom you elect to help you. With these precautions, we should hope to avoid any more events such as the one that took place tonight."

James nodded vigorously and Dumbledore proceeded to bid them goodnight. He instructed them to contact their respective parties immediately, and then get some rest. They could be exempt from their first two classes of the day tomorrow, if they wished. Soon, James and Lily were back in the corridor with the gargoyle statue several paces behind them.

"Merlin…" said James. Suddenly, Lily dropped to the floor and put her head in her hands. She was shaking and sobbing, cracking under the pressure. James stooped down and wrapped his long arms around her. "It'll be okay, Lily, don't worry." He planted a soft kiss on the top of her head and they sat there in the middle of the hallway for a while, rocking back and forth together.

When the two finally made it to the common room, they were bombarded with questions. Students were buzzing with nervous and questioning chatter, flying across the room to share the latest gossip. The faces at the forefront of James' and Lily's vision belonged to Remus, Sirius, and Lottie. "Well?" asked Sirius, "What's going on?"

Lily embraced Lottie, saying that she was worried sick when she heard Lottie was in the hospital wing. "It was nothing really," replied her best friend, "Just a 'necessary precaution,' I guess."

James addressed the rest of their friends, "Dumbledore wants us to help protect the castle against any more Death Eater attacks like this one. He wants us" –James gestured towards Sirius, Remus, and himself– "to go find McGonagall."

"Wait," said Lily, "Lottie and Remus are really good at Charms. Can I take Remus since you have Peter?" She felt a little like she was absurdly trading Chocolate Frog cards.

"Sure," answered James. "Where is Wormtail anyways?"

Everyone shrugged and continued to chatter for a little while longer before breaking off to go find their respective professors. As Lottie, Remus, and Lily walked towards Professor Flitwick's office, Lily confided in them what James had done for her in the Astronomy Tower.

"Blimey!" squealed Lottie. "That's _sooooo_ romantic!"

Remus laughed softly and said, "It was very nice of him to do that."

"So I guess you guys are gonna get together now?" inquired Lottie.

Lily answered uncertainly, "Well, he still was a pretty big arse to me. Romance is kinda the least of my worries right now."

"Oh alright," sighed Lottie, "He totally loves you though."

"We've known this for about six years," said Remus, rolling his eyes. The three continued their walk in remote silence, feeling the brisk air of the corridors on their cheeks. Though Lily was still feeling unsure, there was no doubt that Lottie and Remus were relieved to hear the uncomfortable feud was over at last.

On the opposite end of the castle, James and Sirius were having a similar conversation. They took large strides with their long legs and didn't hesitate to converse. "So I did a thing," said James.

Sirius raised his eyebrows at his friend. "I think I got Lily to forgive me for being a git," he finished.

"Wow," replied Sirius, "Really? Lily is usually so stubborn… Maybe she fancies you."

"I wish."

"So, does this mean you guys are good now? Like, you can stop hating each other, maybe?"

James shrugged. "Lily's always hated me anyway." After a brief pause, he continued to say, "I'm not sure, we were kind of interrupted" –Sirius let out a bark of laughter– "but she's got a lot of other things to worry about right now. I think it's best if I just give her space to breathe."

Over the next few weeks, the mood around Hogwarts was significantly changed. Students nervously buzzed around every corner. No corridor was seen without a professor or two lurking in it. Oddly, Dumbledore was missing for days on end, but managed to scrawl quick notes to Lily and James with instructions.

The latest note came to Lily in the library via a first year who looked very nervous to be travelling the castle alone. Lily instructed a dozing prefect to walk the student back. Lottie and Remus, who were sitting with Lily, took a break from their large stack of books. "Poor thing," said Lottie, as she watched the pair exit the library, probably wistfully thinking that she could be doing the same if it weren't work homework and spells. She took a large chunk of nail off of her thumb with her teeth; it was a nervous habit she developed since the attack. Almost all of her nails were gone and her normally shiny hair was rather dull.

The three of them spent all of their free time in the library, doing homework and looking for different charms to help protect the castle. Flitwick recommend that they do this for him, since he still had lessons and many other "important administrative things" to worry about. Remus was looking even more ragged than his normal state and Lily had very dark circles under her eyes. At night, they would sneak into the Forbidden Forest with Professor Flitwick, so as not to alarm any of the students, and cast protection spells at a boundary within the woods. Soon, they would move onto casting spells on the castle, itself. Because of the amount of energy they exerted every night to perform these charms, Remus, Lily, and Lottie were looking wearier than ever. It was also not extremely helpful that a full moon was approaching, which would render Remus unable to help for at least a week.

They were under a lot of stress, but felt some relief when they saw James and Sirius enter the library and join them at their table. James slumped in his chair and wore the "holy sh*t I haven't slept well in ages" look very well. Lily felt warm feelings stir inside of her, but pushed them down with theories of Bombarda Charms. Sirius automatically let his head fall to the table, as if he was napping.

"Why us?" ask Sirius, his words muffled slightly by his cheek being smushed against the table.

"Dumbledore trusts us?" offered Lottie.

"This is exhausting, and Peter hasn't really been around. No clue where he could be," said James, running his hands through his hair several times.

Lily kept noticing how attractive the boy across from her was. He had matching bags under his eyes, just like herself, and his glasses still sat slightly askew on his nose. His brown eyes looked tired as they stared at the ceiling… Ever since their night in the Astronomy Tower, Lily was unsure of where their relationship stood. However, despite any feelings she may have or how uncomfortable things got, Lily decided it was best left alone. She had charms to worry about, not to mention all of her other classes.

This thought, though they didn't know, was something they mutually shared. James didn't dare broach the subject either as he stared at Lily. She was furling her eyebrows together, taking quick notes on dozens of different spells and sharing them with Lottie and Remus. Her hair was pinned up off of her neck, which was a smooth and creamy pale color dotted with freckles. James made a mental note that maybe one day he'd get to kiss that spot. For now, though, he suspected that falling in love was the least of Lily's worries in their current situation. So he left it alone.

Despite the chaotic and confused feelings, the lack of sleep, and the constant worry, they all felt grateful to have one another. There, at that table in the library, working hard on research and Potions essays, they were in each other's tired company. Outside the grounds of Hogwarts, the world raged on. But in that moment, they had peace and content in the noise of scratching quills and flipping pages.

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 **A/N:** Voila! I hope you like it Chapter 6 is in the works! I've been thinking that maybe I should make the chapters look like more official with titles  & everything but I'm bad with titles. Anyway pleaaaaase review! Love, Lia


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N:** OMG what a fast update! I'm feeling really inspired with this story and this chapter was so fun to write! I hope you like it & pleaaaase review. I'm trying to not post in the middle of the night but that's when I feel most inspired I guess. LOL! Shoutout to the people who always review, you keep me going! luv, Lia1

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The days since the Death Eaters incident at Hogwarts flew past. Students were obviously still anxious about the growing dangers outside the walls of the castle, but they also became absorbed in their own lives again, focusing on schoolwork and the regular difficulties of being a teenager, like acne and romance. The weather outside was becoming cooler and cooler, and many expected the first snow soon. This cold weather and upcoming season added many more responsibilities to the prefects, as they had to watch over roomfuls of first and second years, as well as oversee the decorating of the castle for Christmas. Peeves was an ever-present trouble.

Thankfully, James was helping Lily without complaint when it came to Head duties. It was much less stressful on her when she didn't have to do everything alone. It was James' helpful suggestion to give the sixth year prefects most of the night patrols, so that the fifth and seventh years had more time to do their homework at night and study for their exams that were becoming closer every day.

On one of those rare nights that James had finally caught up on his Head Boy responsibilities, he was sitting with Sirius, Remus, and Peter in the Gryffindor common room. All the boys were by the fire, huffing over their piles of homework. The only one who seemed happy to be there was Remus, for a full moon had just passed. "I'm just happy to be out of that hospital wing," he said. "Madam Pomfrey is nice and all, but sometimes I think that I really don't need two mums."

Remus and Peter sat together on the couch, while James and Sirius sat on the floor working on the coffee table. A few minutes later, Lottie, Lily, and one of their roommates Dorcas Meadowes joined the boys. Lily sat next to Remus on the couch, with Dorcas at their feet, and they all began comparing their Potions essays. James stared admiringly at Lily, a wistful shine in his eyes. While it was true that they were being much friendlier with each other now, and he was being much less immature, it seemed that their relationship was going no further. James ached at the thought of how it felt to kiss Lily. A sudden elbow to the ribs pulled him out of his reverie. Sirius, whose elbow was the culprit, rolled his eyes at his friend and continued to write his Transfiguration homework.

The seven of them were a sight to behold in the dying firelight. Dorcas was recruited by James and Sirius to help with their assignments from McGonagall to add extra protection to Hogwarts, and they all looked exhausted and worn down by their classwork and the extra effort to help the professors raise the castle's defenses. It was quite odd to see how they were all forced to grow up a little more in the weeks since the attack, and ever since then the terrors of the outside Wizarding World seemed to grow exponentially. Lily was in frequent contact with her family, worried that they might be attacked. She decided that when she went home for the holidays, she would place some spells around the Evanses' house so that they were a little safer.

In the midst of their peaceful and quiet studying, Lily suddenly leapt up, almost knocking over several bottles of ink. "Oh my god," she said, slapping her hand to her forehead. She grabbed James' arm and yanked him up, "We've gotta go, James! I almost forgot we have a meeting with Dumbledore!"

James muttered a quick profanity under his breath as he shoved all of his things into his bag. "Moony, take this back to our room when you get a chance, eh?" and to Lily, "Alright, we better go." A few seconds later, the two were through the portrait hole. They walked as fast as they could to Dumbledore's office without breaking into a full on run. By the time they got there, they were out of breath and James panted the password at the statue of the gargoyle. "It's a good thing you remembered," he breathed at Lily.

She giggled and replied, "Barely! At least we're not too late." The staircase spun them upward and when it finally halted, they held their breath as they opened the doors to Dumbledore's office. He was waiting patiently at his desk, a look of serene thoughtfulness on his face.

Lily was spouting profuse apologies, echoed by James. "I'm –we're– really sorry, Professor. We've just been really bogged down with schoolwork and Head duties."

"Yes, sorry sir," said James, ruffling his hair nervously.

Dumbledore merely chucked and gestured towards the seats they so often sat at. "It's quite alright, no need to worry. You two have been stretched very thin as of late. And for that, it is I who should be apologizing." The professor in front of James and Lily looked just as exhausted as they did, sitting behind his large desk that was littered with parchment, quills, and various other nicknacks. There were still days at a time when Dumbledore was missing from the castle, but the only ones who really noticed were Lily, Lottie, and the Marauders.

He pushed a small bowl of butterscotch towards them and willed them to take a piece. "I just wanted to meet today," began Dumbledore, "to discuss provisions for seeing students to the train stations for the winter holidays, as well as keeping those who are staying at Hogwarts safe. As you know, we only have three weeks left before we send everyone home, and we must make sure they make it to King's Cross station safely."

Lily nodded vigorously and spilled her ideas, "Well, we were thinking that we do have a few prefects who are staying instead of going home. So we could award them five extra House points for every patrol they elect to do over the holidays. Also, all prefects going home should be the last to board and should do patrols like normal in the corridor."

"And," added James, "They should have a checklist of all the people going home, so they can check students off as they board."

"Excellent work!" exclaimed Dumbledore. "You two are truly bright students. Thank you for all the effort you both put in. Now, since you've got that all covered, you are free to leave and continue with your schoolwork. Thank you for giving me a little of your time."

"No problem," said Lily.

"Of course, sir," said James. They both waved a little goodbye and left the Headmaster's office.

Back in the Gryffindor common room, it was only Lottie and Sirius left at their homework camp. They both sat on the floor at the coffee table with their backs to the fire. Lottie was making revisions on Sirius' Defense Against the Dark Arts paper. "Honestly, Black," she said, "How did you make it to seventh year with all of these grammatical errors?"

Sirius shrugged, "Nice mates like you?" At this, Lottie rolled her eyes. After a moment went by, Sirius said, "We've got to figure out a way to get Lily to come around to James again."

Lottie chortled in a way that Sirius found kind of cute. When she regained her composure, she replied, "You don't think we've all got enough to worry about? Lily's already forgiven James, and they seem to be doing pretty well together, anyways. But do any of really have time to worry about relationships and romance?"

Sirius blushed, which was completely out of character for him. Luckily, Lottie was too preoccupied with his horrible essay to even notice. "I mean, I don't know about you, but I've sorta been… 'worrying' about it," he said.

Slowly, Lottie raised her head and gave Sirius a questioning look, "What?"

"Er, well, I was just wondering if maybe you'd wanna go to Slughorn's Christmas party together."

"You do realize that _I'm_ the one who Slughorn invited, right?" laughed Lottie.

"Yeah," replied Sirius. He smiled and said, "But I couldn't wait for you to ask me, seeing as you clearly had no clue I wanted to go with you."

With a grin from ear to ear, Lottie nodded and consented, "Alright, Black, we can go together. But you better have some nice dress robes."

"Oh, don't I always look devastatingly handsome?"

They spent the rest of the night in a comfortable silence, interrupted only by their scratching quills, the crackling fire, and the occasional conversation from another group of people. Though Sirius' offer to go with Lottie to Slughorn's party came as a surprise, she secretly could not be more pleased.

Over breakfast the next morning, Lottie shared the news with Lily, who was shoveling oatmeal into her mouth as she skimmed through the _Daily Prophet_. Lily was late waking up, therefore late to breakfast and in a frazzled state, for that rarely happened. However, despite her detachment from reality at that moment, Lottie's announcement snapped her back rather quickly. She almost spit her oatmeal out all over some poor, unsuspecting fourth years. "You're going with Sirius? Sirius _Black_?"

Lottie shrugged and said, "Yeah, it shouldn't be too bad at all. He's a fun time, and Slughorn has a tendency to be awfully dull. Ya know, you should get a date, too."

"I'm going with Remus, I think. We talked about it ages ago," replied Lily. "Besides, what's it matter anyway?"

"Not Potter?" prodded Lottie.

" _No_ , not Potter," snapped Lily, looking slightly embarrassed that her best friend would even bring up such a thing.

Later, when the seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins had Potions class, Lily paired up with Remus strategically. They stood together at a table, their cauldrons brewing with that day's concoction. The two chatted lightly until Lily decided to broach the subject of the Christmas party awkwardly. "So, er, have you got a date to Slughorn's party yet?" In order to achieve an air of nonchalance, Lily did this as she continued to mix her potion. However, she did not have the perfect smoothness of James Potter or Sirius Black and almost dropped a whole vial of toadstools into her cauldron.

Remus laughed and gave her an understanding look. He knew what she was getting at and recalled their conversation a month earlier, when James was still acting like an arrogant fool. They were sitting together in the library, trying to organize schedules for the prefects' patrols when they agreed on their arrangement. "Yeah, I do," said Remus, "It's you, isn't it?"

Lily felt her whole body sag with relief and let out a breathy laugh, "Oh good. Lottie –"

Her sentence was cut off by a loud crash from the table behind them. Everyone looked back to see Severus Snape staring at his cauldron with a mixture of anger and confusion on his face. On the floor, the remains of a glass bottle and frog eyeballs were at his feet.

Slughorn clapped his hands and laughed merrily, saying, "Not to worry. Even the best potions masters slip up every now and then. Severus, please do clean that up. Carry on!"

All of the students in the dungeon turned back to their cauldrons, hoping that the distraction did not cause any change in their own potions. James and Sirius could be heard sniggering and mocking Snape, pretending to drop their bottles and catching them at the last minute. Snape was muttering under his breath as he waved his wand at the mess, which disappeared in an instant. In his head, he was thinking about how appalling it was for Lily to be going to Slughorn's party with one of _them_. Any boy would have upset him, but the fact that it was someone from that lot… He was seething. He missed Lily so much his heart hurt. Why couldn't she be going to the party with him?

Other than Snape's accident, the rest of the class passed relatively uneventfully. Lily felt relieved to have established Remus as her date, ensuring that James or any other boy would not bug her about it.

The remainder of the term was gone within a blink of an eye, or at least it seemed to go that way. Before anyone could stop to take a breath, it was the night before the students of Hogwarts were set to head home for the winter holidays. There was a steady snowstorm outside, but luckily the dormitories in Gryffindor Tower were warm and cozy. The fire in the common room was constantly roaring with heat, courtesy of the elusive castle house elves. A seat by this fire was often hard to come by, but on this particular night that didn't matter. It was the night of Slughorn's party, and all of the students going were in their rooms getting ready.

Lottie and Lily were in their dorm with their other roommates, Mary, Dorcas, and Marlene. They were getting ready for the night's event, and the room was strewn with several shoe choices, dresses, false eyelashes, and dozens of other accessories. Lily was positioned in front of their full-length mirror, trying to curl her hair with her wand. No matter how many times she tried, or how good she was at Charms, she could never get the spell just right to curl her red hair. The curls either fell loose instantly or were wound so tight it looked like a spring was attached to her roots.

As Lily struggled with her hair, Marlene sat on the floor trying on different shoes and sighed, saying, "Lottie, you're so lucky to be going with Sirius. Remember when I went steady with him during sixth year? That was a great time…"

All of the girls in the room gave a collective eye roll. Finally, Mary walked up to Lily and said, "Here, let me help you." The petite girl made her way over the mountains of discarded dresses and evening clutches to where Lily stood. It was like Mary was a miracle worker, because within minutes Lily's head was covered in perfectly curled strands of hair.

Lottie was sitting on her bed with a handheld mirror and applying her makeup with the precision of a surgeon. "Black's alright," she replied distractedly, "Devastating handsome, dangerously charming… What's another adjective that starts with a 'D'?"

"In other words," said Marlene, "He's _perfect_. Ya know, Lily, I'm shocked you're not going with James."

Lily's eyes widened as she began pulling on her dress. "Why would you say that? James and I are barely even friends… Besides, he must've already known I was going with Remus."

"If I knew he wasn't going to go with you," said Dorcas regretfully, "I would've snagged him for myself."

After several hours, all five girls were ready to leave for the party. Lily pulled on nude heels to complement her silky green, empire waist dress. Her curls spilled over her bare shoulders and fell gracefully along the dress' deep V-neck. Before they left, Lottie paused in the mirror to clip her pin-straight hair to one side.

Downstairs in the common room, handfuls of boys were waiting for their dates to finish getting ready and descend the staircase. Though the Slug Club was supposed to be a small, elite group, it seemed that half of Gryffindor House was going to the Christmas party.

Among those waiting were the Marauders, who stood together on the side of the room. James had invited a sixth year girl to go with him, as he hadn't gotten enough nerve to pester Lily about going with him. Then, when he found out she was going with Remus, he knew that his chances were shot. James stood there with his friends looking slightly bored. Peter, who stood next to him, had an excited look on his face and kept patting James' invisibility cloak beneath his robes. Despite not being invited or finding a date, his friends were determined to get him into their last Christmas party, one way or another. Next to Peter stood Remus and Sirius, who were looking quite nervous. This was out of character for the both of them, as they were usually fairly confident when it came to female company. However, Remus was worried that James was angry at him for going with Lily, and Sirius was just experiencing some normal nerves associated with taking someone you like on a date.

"Listen," said Remus to James, "I know I already told you this, but Lily and I are just going as mates. This really means nothing."

"Don't worry about it," answered James, smiling sympathetically.

Finally, the girls of the seventh year dorm emerged, climbing down the stairs carefully in their heels. When James spotted Lily, he felt his heart drop from his chest to his stomach. She looked stunning with her hair a silky halo of curls. The way that Sirius gasped seconds later told his friends that he was experiencing the same feelings as James, but looking at Lottie instead. Lottie's white dress clung to her body, showing off and accentuating her features. Sirius felt his heart throb at the sight of her, which was something he'd never really felt before.

The other girls broke off to find their dates and depart for the party, and Lottie and Lily approached the four boys standing against the wall. More than anything, James ached to tell Lily how beautiful she looked and how badly he wanted to hold her, and to kiss her.

Sirius struggled to find words to say to Lottie, settling with a stutter of, "Y-you look wonderful. A-amazing. You look amazing."

"Lily," said Remus, shooting a quick sideways glance at James, who looked impartial, "You look –er– very nice. We're, ah... just waiting on James' date."

"That's fine," answered Lily patiently. She held her evening bag in her hand as she crossed her arms and rocked back on her heels, feeling a little awkward.

The six of them stood together in silence for few a minutes, listening to the chatter of other students and the crackle of the fireplace. Finally, another group of girls descended the staircase. One girl in particular stood out amongst the rest, and Lily knew instantly that this girl was James' date. She had beautiful tanned skin, despite the fact that it was December, and her jet black hair was done in a perfect updo. Her gold dress was just short enough to leave you wanting more, showing off her legs that seemed to go on for miles. After waving a giddy goodbye to her friends, she walked up to James, who was leaning against the wall with his hands in the pockets of his dress robes. She stood on the tippy toes of her high heels and kissed him on the cheek, saying "hi," after, in a surprisingly squeaky voice.

Lily felt a pang of jealousy that made her feel irrational. James was not hers, she reminded herself. He was perfectly able to go out with a girl that wasn't her.

It was finally time for the group to make their way to the party and they made comfortable small talk along the way, discussing schoolwork and Quidditch. They learned that the name of James' date was Hannah, and that she was too nice and polite for Lily and Lottie to hate reasonably.

When they arrived at the Christmas party, which was being held in Slughorn's office, the atmosphere was light and happy. The office was Charmed to the max, with an obvious expansion spell placed on it. There were strings of traditional, colored Christmas lights, as well as small fairies flitting about the room. Clips of mistletoe hung in midair, just high enough to be out of the way, yet still low enough to be noticed. Six of them split up to go their own way. Peter, who had snuck in under James' cloak, had not yet resurfaced. Lottie and Sirius took spots on a couch with plenty of snacks on the coffee table in front of them, while Lily and Remus went to socialize with Slughorn and the important figures he invited, and James and his date, Hannah, went to talk to a few members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

On their couch, Lottie and Sirius were approached by a timid looking third year holding a tray of champagne flutes. "Don't worry," he said shakily, "It's just sparkling cider. Fancy a glass?"

"Sure," said Lottie kindly, taking a glass for herself and Sirius. Apparently, however, just plain old cider was not enough for the latter. Sirius pulled out a silver flask from his robes and smirked at Lottie. He took a swig from the flask and then a large gulp of the cider.

Sirius waved the flask at Lottie, who looked at him with a shocked expression. "You really are crazy," she said in a slightly awed voice. Lottie reached out her hand and took the container, despite her gut telling her not to. Imitating the way Sirius had done, she placed her lips on the cool metal and tipped it upward. Warm, tingling liquid filled her mouth and she swallowed it, experiencing that sensation move down her throat and spread into her chest. It almost felt like she was burning, but it was an extremely good feeling.

"Only the best from Madam Rosmerta." Sirius winked and took his flask back. "Now we know this party will definitely be fun."

The two sat together for quite some time, taking shots from Sirius' flask every now and then. The night turned pleasantly blurry as they talked and joked. Lottie discovered that Sirius wasn't so bad, after all, and had certainly come a long way since they first met their first year at Hogwarts. Back then, all he wanted was to make a name for himself and prove that he was different from his family. Though that still seemed to be his number one mission, he was much less obnoxious about it. Lottie, in her hazy brain, thought it might be a good idea to voice her thoughts, "You're not half bad, Black."

Sirius turned his head to look at her, smiling his mega-watt smile that made girls swoon. "You, too, Quincy," he replied. As they looked at each other, it felt like one of those movie scenes where two people were inching closer by millimeters, holding their breath for the moment their lips would touch.

"Are you buzzed?" asked a voice loudly.

Lottie broke her gaze away from Sirius, realizing that they were still several inches apart from each other. She looked up to find her best friend, Lily, with her hands on her hips and Remus standing behind her. "Maybe a li'l," giggled Lottie.

Lily rolled her eyes and said in an exasperated voice, "Black, you're a bad influence."

"Have you seen James?" asked Remus, ringing his hands together.

In his alcohol-addled state, Sirius did not think twice when he said, "I think he's off snogging his date. I might've seen them sneak out a half an hour ago."

These words stung Lily, though she tried to keep her expression neutral. Sirius had not realized the damage his words did, but she couldn't blame him. One, he was drunk, and two, Lily realized that James couldn't wait for her for forever. They had lives to live, and maybe they just weren't meant to be. "Gimme that," said Lily, and she bravely snatched Sirius' flask from him. She took a big gulp and, though she always had a glass of wine or two at family parties, what was in this container was nothing like wine. Lily coughed a little as she withdrew the flask and laughed at herself.

"That's firewhiskey, Evans," said Sirius, "Don't overdo it now."

"I'm fine," snapped Lily. She collapsed on the couch next to Lottie and tried to expel all thoughts of James Potter from her mind.

"Ah," said Remus, "What the hell." He grabbed the flask back from Sirius and took a swig himself as he squeezed in next to Lily. The four of them finished out their last Christmas party there on that comfy couch in a perfectly blissful state.

In a broom closet near by, James had somehow ended up with his hands all over his date for the evening. She was beautiful and stunning in a way that was unique to select few girls, but as James kissed a trail down Hannah's neck, all he could think of was smooth, freckled skin that belonged to Lily. He imagined that the hair he was pulling out of its updo was a fiery red, and he longed for the hands that slipped under his shirt to be the delicate ones he held in the Astronomy Tower. Hannah let out a moan of pleasure as James hiked her dress up, and he pictured how sensual Lily would look in this exact position on top of his lap. He wished the lips whispering kisses on his ears were the pink, thin ones that so often told him off. James wanted more than anything for Lily to be the one in that closet with him, instead of Hannah.

When they finally emerged from the broom closet, Hannah was a disheveled mess and full of giggles; it was as if she couldn't keep the smile off her face, like she couldn't believe she had just hooked up with James Potter in a broom closet. But James was the exact opposite, feeling guilty about how he could only think of Lily the whole time. Hannah took his hand in hers with James hardly noticing, and they reentered the party this way.

Sirius, Remus, Lottie, and Lily were certainly a sight; rosy-cheeked and laughing, they looked quite happy in each other's company. Remus made a joke that they all laughed particularly loud about. As James watched them, he felt kind of upset that he hadn't been with them. Peter joined them, looking just as jovial, as James stood at a distance. "Listen, Hannah," he said as he let go of her hand, "Why don't you go find your friends for a bit? I'll –er– walk you back to the Tower at the end if you want."

"Okay!" replied Hannah giddily.

Lily had witnessed the couple's entrance and noticed the way Hannah's hair was not nearly as nice as it was before, and how the bottom of her dress was quite wrinkled. As James approached their spot on the couch, she saw how James' cheeks were still a little flushed and the buttons to his dress robes were uneven. And maybe it was the firewhiskey talking, telling her to stop suppressing her feelings, but when James finally made his way over to their couch, Lily said, "Did you have fun with your date? Tell me, was it in an empty classroom or a broom closet?"

Everyone looked at Lily, their eyes wide with shock. She simply giggled and took another gulp from Sirius' flask. "I think it's great," continued Lily, "James still shows girls a good time, even if there is an ongoing war outside this castle. You know, she's very pretty. You should consider dating her! She doesn't have bags under eyes, and she's not a Mudblood, like me."

Lily was the only one who didn't know how close to home she had hit with that statement. Their group was silent, not knowing what was going to happen next. James gulped and ruffled his hair. "Oh," he said, "Well, I just wanted to let you lot know that I think I'm gonna go back early." James turned on his heel and walked away quickly.

Sirius launched himself off the couch and went after James, finally catching up to him halfway down the hallway. "Prongs, mate," he said, grabbing his friend's arm to slow him down, "Lily's just a little buzzed. I'm thinking she doesn't usually take shots of firewhiskey in her down time."

"I thought of her the whole time," admitted James, stopping in his tracks and rubbing his face in a tired way. "I wish this wasn't so bloody complicated. Maybe then, it would be her I was sneaking off with, instead of some sixth year I barely give a damn about."

"Maybe things will work out," said Sirius, "But you'll never know if you keep banging girls in broom closets."

"I guess you're right."

"I know I am."

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 **A/N:** My goal ever since I started writing fanfiction was to have long chapters,  & here's one that's pretty long! I'm super excited about it & I hope that you like it. Nothing too dramatic happened in this chapter but I still like it. I think it was good for character development & also just to show how they all interact with each other normally. IDK now I'm just rambling...

Please do consider reviewing, I would reaaallly appreciate knowing how I'm doing! Thanks, luv Lia


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Hey guys! I wanted to crank out at least one more chapter before I go back to school, so here it is! This chapter isn't too dramatic or anything, and was actually really hard for me to write for some reason. Anyway, I'm finally posting at a normal time, so I hope everyone enjoys it!

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The morning after Slughorn's party, Lottie awoke to a brightness all throughout the room. As she cracked her eyes open further, she realized it was because of the snow gathering outside and on the windowsill. The light reflected off of the plush burgundy carpet, making it look so warm and inviting. She exhaled contently, for Lottie loved snow. It was about a nanosecond later that she finally realized she was not cozily in bed, but in the Gryffindor common room on a couch. On top of a boy.

She jumped up off of the couch with a squeal of horror, clutching at the bottom of the white button-up shirt she was wearing. The boy on the couch stirred awake and flashed a lazy, megawatt smile at her.

"Black," growled Lottie.

"I guess I can check 'waking up to a beautiful girl' off of my bucket list," said Sirius, stretching his shirtless, beautifully sculpted body.

Lottie scowled at him and crossed her hands over her chest. "I'm sure this isn't a first for you. Does this mean we…?" she asked warily.

Sirius sat up and yawned, shaking his head to Lottie's relief. "No," he said, "I basically carried you back here, then I couldn't bring you up to your room because of that jinx of the stairs. I didn't want to bring you back to mine because it would have been a mess with both Remus and Peter being drunk. So I asked if you were okay sleeping down here, and you said yes. Then you wanted my shirt because you were tired of wearing your dress…"

"Okay, okay," said Lottie, throwing up her hands. "I get it."

"You're welcome," said Sirius.

"Yeah, thanks I guess." Then, a look of realization spread across Lottie's face. "Oh my god," she said, "I still need to pack all of my things!"

Sirius slapped his forehead and said, "Bloody hell, me too."

"You're not staying here for the holidays?" asked Lottie.

"Nah, I'm going over James' this year."

"Oh, well, send an owl my way. Maybe you and James can come visit me and Lily over the holidays."

"Alright, sounds great."

With a slightly awkward hug, the two parted and raced off to their respective dormitories to pack all of their belongings for the winter holidays. They didn't see each other again until the trip home on the Hogwarts Express, during which they and all their friends slept soundly in a compartment until their arrival at King's Cross.

That night, James sat with his parents and Sirius eating dinner in their luxurious dining room. The atmosphere was tense, just as it had been ever since Mr. and Mrs. Potter informed their son of his arranged marriage. There was occasional chit-chat passed between Sirius and Mr. and Mrs. Potter, but other than those few words, the only sound to be heard was the clanging and scraping of utensils against their plates.

Finally, Mrs. Potter broke the silence. She set her knife and fork down and cleared her throat before saying, "James, dear, we have some good news for you."

James grunted in response as he continued to stare at his plate and eat.

After a quick glance at her husband, Mrs. Potter continued, "We believe that we found a suitable match for you. She goes to Hogwarts, in fact!" Mrs. Potter said this as though it would make the idea of an arranged marriage more appealing to James. When she realized that it didn't, at all, she hurriedly continued, "She's a year younger than you, but willing to be married this summer, as she'll only have one year left at Hogwarts then. She seems quite sweet and–"

"That's great," snapped James sarcastically. "Just _fantastic_. I can't wait to be married to some girl I don't give a damn about!" He slammed his utensils down and stood briskly. "I wish you would just drop it. Nothing's going to protect us any more or less from Voldemort. Not even if you became Death Eaters."

His parents gasped at the mention of Voldemort's name, and they sat there pale-faced and shocked as James stormed out. James loved his parents dearly, but ever since they told him he could never be with the only girl he'd ever actually wanted, he truly hated them. Lily's smiling face flashed across his mind and the thought of her calmed him slightly. He wondered what she was doing at the moment as he sat on his bed. A pecking at the window caught his attention, and he recognized Lottie's owl.

James made it to the window in two long strides and offered the owl refuge from the cold snow. A small scroll was attached to his leg, so James fed the owl a snack as a thank you. Sirius came up moments later.

"Oi," he said, "That must be Lottie's invitation. She wants us to come visit at the Evanses'."

James nodded and said, "Let's go tomorrow night. I don't think I can deal with another dinner here."

"Alright, if you say so," said Sirius. He quickly scrawled a reply to Lottie and tied it to her owl's leg. "Take off when you've warmed up," he said to the owl.

The next morning, Lily awoke to the sound of wind blowing against her house. A quick glance outside let her know that it was the snow still falling. After a minute of looking at the beautiful white landscape that was her backyard, Lily nudged her best friend awake. "Lottie!" she sang, "Happy Christmas!"

With a grunt, Lottie rolled over and put her pillow over her head. "Tenmo' min'," she groaned.

"Are you kidding me?" asked Lily, "It's Christmas! We've got presents to open and french toast to eat. Come _on!_ "

Finally, Lottie emerged from her pillow with a last moan. "You're a pain in my arse," she said grudgingly to Lily.

Lily simply shrugged and summoned Lottie's present. "Here, I wanted to give this to you before we opened presents under the tree."

Lottie smiled at her friend and procured a gift of her own, "Me too."

The girls opened their presents together and squealed of joy. Lottie received an album of her favorite Muggle band, Queen, and Lily got a beautiful quill that kept twice as much ink as normal ones. After many hugs and thank yous, the girls headed downstairs to feast on delicious breakfast food cooked by Mrs. Evans.

In the kitchen, the smell of french toast, syrup, cinnamon, and bacon was intoxicating. Christmas was hands down Lily's favorite holiday, even if it was just taking breakfast into consideration alone. The air was warm in the tiny kitchen despite the nipping cold that was surely just outside the window. Lottie sat down at the chipped oak table as Lily helped place the last breakfast items. When everyone was seated at last, they all dug in.

A few minutes went by of contented silence and chewing, and several appreciative moans. After a particularly loud swallow and a cough to clear her throat, Petunia announced that her boyfriend would be over for dinner that night. "Vernon should be expected around four-thirty. He wishes to help prepare dinner," she said matter-of-factly.

"Great," said Lily, rolling her eyes. "We're all just _thrilled_ to see him."

"Now, Lily…" said Mrs. Evans, "We are all truly delighted to have Vernon over."

"He can help make the mashed potatoes!" exclaimed Mr. Evans.

"Excellent," said Petunia satisfactorily. She shot a glare at her sister, who returned it with an equally terrifying look.

The time passed quite uneventfully after breakfast. They all opened presents under the Christmas tree and watched Christmas specials on the television. Various family members popped by to say "Happy Christmas!" and update on their goings-on. Lily was surprised when it was already time to set the table for dinner.

The sun was dipping lower and lower in the sky as Mrs. Evans stuck the pot-roast in the oven. She hummed to herself as she danced around the kitchen, chopping carrots and dicing onions. Lily thought that maybe her mother did have a bit of magic in her, considering the way she moved about so fluidly and well, magically. The ring of the doorbell interrupted Lily's admiring of her mother. Lily knew that it was Vernon after glancing at the clock and felt dread spread across her body. Since Petunia was upstairs putting some final touches on her makeup, Lily took it upon herself to answer the door.

Vernon Dursley was a short and squat man. He had a sparse, curly mustache that made Lily even more uncomfortable than his actual personality. What Petunia saw in him, she'd never know. "Hello, Vernon," she said begrudgingly, "Happy Christmas." Lily opened the door wider so Vernon could fit himself through. He barely acknowledged her, just giving her an awkward, greasy handshake, before seeking out Mr. and Mrs. Evans.

In their living room, Lottie made gagging sounds on the couch. Lily giggled and sat next to her friend, clicking through the channels while dinner was finishing being prepared. Christmas dinner was usually better than breakfast, which Lily wasn't really sure was possible. Despite this, she sat in anticipation, excited for the food, but not excited to deal with Vernon's company.

The two girls sat quietly on the couch, cringing at every word that came out of Vernon's pudgy mouth. Petunia could not stop fawning over him, and Lily thought that she might throw up in her mouth. The doorbell rang again, which both surprised and relieved Lily. She expected that it would be another family member, so she offered to answer the door instead of Lottie.

The people she saw at the door were not any family member that she knew of, but James Potter and Sirius Black. They stood there with devastatingly handsome grins and presents filling their arms. Specks of white snow dotted across their dark, fussed hair and landed on their eyebrows and eyelashes. Their cheeks were rosy from the cold wind, and Lily felt her heart beat a little faster at the sight of James.

"W-what are you–" stuttered Lily.

Lottie came up behind her and said, "Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you they were coming..."

"Lottie!" moaned Lily.

Mrs. Evans traveled down the hall and approached the front door, where the four teenagers stood. "Girls, who's at the door?" she asked. Upon seeing James and Sirius in their cold state she said, "Oh my! Please, girls invite them inside before they freeze to death. I assume they'll be staying for dinner? I knew there was a reason I always cook extra!"

James crossed over the threshold first, taking Mrs. Evans hand and placing a kiss on the back of it. She flushed from her neck to hairline and let out a schoolgirl giggle. "I'm James Potter," said James, "Pleased to meet you." Sirius did the same, causing Mrs. Evans to blush even deeper.

" _Mum_ ," moaned Lily, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"Very nice boys," said Mrs. Evans to James and Sirius in a breathy voice. Then, to Lily, she said sternly, "Take their coats and hang them in the laundry room to dry. They must stay the night –the roads are too dangerous to be driving on!"

"M'am," said Sirius, "We didn't–"

"Tut-tut," said Mrs. Evans, "You will be staying here where it's nice and warm."

James and Sirius shrugged at each other while Lily glared at Lottie. "How could you forget to tell me," she whispered angrily.

"If I told you, then you wouldn't let them come over," said Lottie. She took James' and Sirius' robes and carried them to the laundry room, not giving Lily another chance to say anything.

"Follow me," said Lily through gritted teeth, and she brought the two black-haired boys to the kitchen, where the table was extended for the extra guests. The food sat steaming and ready. Vernon, Petunia, and Mr. Evans were already seated and locked in a discussion about the Prime Minister. Sirius took a seat in between Vernon and Lily, while James sat between Petunia and Lottie. Mrs. Evans sat at the end of the table, directly across from her husband. They all tucked in, devouring the delicious food that had been made.

Lily felt herself caught in a mix of emotions. She was angry that James and Sirius had shown up without her knowledge of them coming, mostly because they were the last people she wanted to see on her favorite holiday. But she was also impressed by how well mannered they were being, charming the heck out of her parents. If Lily didn't know any better, she would have thought Mr. and Mrs. Evans were a pair of fifth years fawning over the two "hottest boys at Hogwarts." Because her parents seemed so impressed with James and Sirius, Vernon was steadily getting redder and redder in the face due to the lack of attention paid to him. This pleased Lily to no end, as she loved to see Vernon suffering.

It looked as if steam were about to come out of Petunia's ears. She was seething, angry that these two magical freaks were stealing attention away from her Vernon. She hated to see how upset he was getting. After about twenty minutes of listening to the utter nonsense spouting from their mouths, Petunia finally cracked. She slammed her knife and fork down, almost knocking over her glass of water. The entire table looked towards her direction, with both shocked and concerned looks on their faces.

She cleared her throat in her usual fashion before saying slowly, "Vernon and I have some exciting news."

Vernon, who was taking a sip of his wine, spluttered and coughed, "Petunia, dear, I thought we were waiting until dessert –"

Petunia waved him off and continued speaking, "We're engaged to be married! He's taking me in a few days to pick out a ring."

Lily looked incredulously at her sister, thinking that she might actually cry. "You can't be serious," she said in a lethally low voice. "You're really going to marry him?"

"Clearly," replied Petunia angrily, "We are _very_ serious! He proposed to me!"

"Petunia, listen to the voice of reason," pleaded Lily, "You can do so much better than bloody Vernon Dursley."

This statement toppled Vernon's mounting anger over the edge. He stood, enraged and purple in the face. "Oi," he shouted, "You keep your ugly freckled nose out of it. What does your opinion matter, anyway? You're a freak! You wish you could be normal and ever hope to be engaged."

Everyone at the dinner table sat for uncomfortably a second, before James suddenly stood from his seat, as well. He wore an expression on his face that had only been seen in the Quidditch pitch during a match against Slytherin. He moved to Vernon in one swift stride and grabbed his shirt collars. James was practically spitting in Vernon's pudgy red face as he said, "Don't you dare speak to Lily like that. She is more beautiful, brave, and smart than any woman you could ever hope to marry. Whoever gets to marry her and spend the rest of his life with her would be the luckiest guy in the world. Now, I suggest you apologize to her before you say something that makes you more of an arse."

James released Vernon roughly and flexed his jaw. After a minute, he turned to Mr. and Mrs. Evans and said, "I apologize for that. Dinner was exquisite. Thank you for your invitation, but if you will excuse me for a moment." He strode away, leaving those remaining in shock. Sirius and Lottie were having a telepathic conversation about how amazing that was, while Lily sat unable to process what just occurred.

When the tensions had eased slightly between Petunia, Lily, and Vernon, Mrs. Evans congratulated her eldest daughter on her engagement and then suggested that they clean up the table and skip dessert. Mr. Evans agreed heartily and began clearing the empty plates. Lily and Lottie scurried off to their room, squealing about what had just happened, while Sirius went into the living room and chatted with James.

"Oh my god," said Lottie, once they were safely behind a closed door. "Bloody hell, James Potter is _totally_ in love with you."

"Honestly…" said Lily, who had been unable to form a complete thought since James' defense of her.

"It was so chivalrous, and romantic, and sweet. Oh, Merlin, if only a boy would do that for me," said Lottie dreamily. A certain shaggy haired boy flashed across her mind, but she dismissed the thought quickly.

"Ugh, let's just talk about something else please," moaned Lily. They agreed to just lay in bed and listen to Lottie's new Queen album for the rest of the night, gossiping about celebrities instead of themselves.

Downstairs, Mrs. Evans was setting up the living room for the boys in the house to sleep there that night. James offered to sleep on the floor, as there were only two couches and he was feeling particularly guilty. Something about Vernon just didn't sit right with him, and after he insulted Lily, James didn't feel _too_ bad about getting rough with him. All of the boys settled in their respective sleeping spots and prepared to knock out for the night.

James laid and stared at the ceiling, a dull ache developing in his back. Despite Mrs. Evans' best efforts, the floor was just as uncomfortable as he expected. He felt himself start to drift off, images of Lily flashing through his mind. He remembered how she tossed her red hair over her shoulders before leaning over and setting the bowl of green beans on the table. How she covered her mouth when she laughed because it was full of food. James felt a familiar anger creeping into his gut when he realized that he would never be able to watch Lily this way for the rest of his life. As Vernon began heavily snoring, James cursed Sirius for bringing him here, it was like constant torture, seeing Lily –

The thud of a pillow interrupted James's thought. Then, the quick snapping of fingers. Despite this sudden noise, Vernon's snoring remained steady. "Oi," whispered Sirius, "Get up already."

"Wha'?" asked James, his mouth sticking together after not being used for a few minutes.

"I used _muffliato_ on Mr. Piggy over there," said Sirius, "Merlin, he does snore loudly."

James got up clumsily, his long legs tangled in various blankets.

They quietly padded their way upstairs and tiptoed to Lily's bedroom. A soft knock was answered moments later by a confused Lottie.

"You two are still up?" she asked.

"We could say the same about you," replied Sirius, peering into the still brightly lit room. He leaned back and held up two cartons filled with six bottles of butterbeer each. James held up a carton of eggnog that Sirius had handed him minutes before. "Nicked from Madam Rosmerta's before we left," he said, "Oughta be delicious."

Lottie looked over at Lily, who sat cross-legged on her bed in a cozy looking oversized sweater. "I guess we can go to the shed," she said after a moment. "It has a space heater… But we have to be quiet!"

"Of course, Miss Evans," said Sirius. He bowed his head and gestured for her to lead the way.

The group of four trekked their way through the snow that had been accumulating all day. It was still falling, but only lightly. Lily caught herself admiring the way it made everything so quiet and peaceful looking.

Once they were out of the snow, they took their soaked shoes and socks off, placing them near the space heater to dry. It was warm in the shed and dusty in the shed, smelling of sawdust and stale air. A small table was pushed against the back wall with a stool, where Mr. Evans tinkered with things and made repairs for the house. The sides were lined with shelves that had miscellaneous items from Lily and Petunia's childhood. A dusty and abandoned dollhouse, an untouched toy microscope, and several hula-hoops and deflated basketballs.

The sound of scraping plastic chairs filled the shed before Lily, Sirius, Lottie, and James settled in a circle. Sirius set the cartons of butterbeer on the floor before taking out his wand, waving the bottle caps away to gather in a pile in the corner of the room. Soon enough, all twelve bottles were empty and they were working on the eggnog. Giggles bounced of the walls of the shed as they reminisced on their earlier years.

"Remember when James thought Lily would be impressed if he got the Beaters on the Quidditch team to fly a bludger at her during a match," said Lottie, slurring her words a little and struggling over her laughter, "And then saved her from it?"

James sunk in his seat a little as Sirius and Lily roared with laughter. "Oh Merlin," said Lily, shaking her head, "I was so angry when he ended up in my lap! His broomstick hit me on the head really hard and McGonagall was _not_ happy."

"Please," begged James, "Let's talk about something else."

Sirius stood up and began to wander around the shed, examining the shelves, trying to picture Lily's Muggle childhood. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Sirius found a dusty record player hidden among the clutter. A record was already laying on it; it was Elvis Presley's album _Blue Hawaii_.

"Lily," he asked, "Why do you have an American album in here?"

"Oh, that was my mum's! She loves Elvis," explained Lily. Sirius pushed the needle onto the record and turned the machine on. The first few lines of the first song rang out, causing Lottie to jump out of her chair. "Guys," she said, "Let's dance!"

She began to flail about in an awkward fashion –admittedly, she was never known for her dance moves. Sirius joined her, moving just as weirdly, staring at her with an adoring look in his eyes. James and Lily made eye contact, asking each other telepathically if they were drunk enough to participate in such shenanigans. With a shrug, James stood and began bopping back and forth in time with the beat. Finally, Lily abandoned all of her inhibitions and joined her friends. Heck, it was Christmas!

After a pause in the music, the song "Can't Help Falling in Love" came on. Without a second thought, Sirius wrapped his arms around Lottie and began slow dancing with her. James and Lily slowly gravitated towards each other and, eventually, James took Lily's right hand in his and placed his left on the small of her back.

"Fancy a dance, Evans?" he asked softly. Lily hummed her assent and they began to sway back and forth gently.

Lily rested her head on James' chest, listening to his heartbeat. It was beating fast, perhaps due to the alcohol, or maybe it was their proximity to each other. Whatever it was, Lily felt at peace in James' arms listening to the rhythm of his heart. Suddenly, the rest of her life played like a movie trailer before her eyes. It was she and James, throughout it all. They got their first flat together, it was dingy and the water only worked on every other day of the week, but it was perfect. Their wedding was beautiful. It was outdoors, in the backyard of James' parents' house. Mason jars filled with white Christmas tree lights glowed, charmed to hang in the air. There were wildflowers everywhere and when James said, "I do," Lily thought her heart might burst with love. Their honeymoon was on a tropical island, with clear blue waters and tons of romance. When their first child took his or her first steps, James cried. Their elderly lives would be spent watching their three children raise their grandchildren, as they grew old in a beautiful house filled with magic and love.

Lily gasped as her thoughts ended, and she finally realized what she had been denying for so long. She loved James Potter. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with the boy who was holding her in his arms right now. She wanted to marry him, have his children, and grow old with him. It amazed Lily how long she had ignored this simple fact, because it was so clear to her now. James Potter was the love of her life, and she was sure that he was her soulmate.

James looked down at the redhead he was dancing with and asked, "Are you alright?"

Lily nodded, trying to gather thoughts. She wanted to tell James at that instant, "I love you. I think I always have," but her words got caught in her throat. Finally, she opened her mouth to say something, but the words she heard were not hers.

"What on _Earth_ are you doing out here?!" shouted the voice. Four heads turned to look at the shed door and saw a shivering Petunia. Her skinny physique was masked by a long, puffy winter coat. The expression on her face was livid and her voice was strained with anger. "Mum invites your friends into our house, and this is how you repay her?" she asked Lily.

The alcohol coursing through Lily's blood caused her response time to be monumentally slower than it normally would be. All she could manage was, "Er…."

Lottie grabbed Lily's arm and whispered in her ear, "Just apologize. We better go back in."

Lily responded with a nod and said, "Sorry, 'Tuney. We were just having some fun, which isn't something you know too much about."

Petunia's jaw dropped open as Lily shoved her way past and began the trek back to the house, mentally preparing herself for Petunia's tirade, as well as her mother's. But when she entered through the backdoor, she found her father sitting at the kitchen table. He had his reading glasses perched on the top of his bald head and a tired look on his face.

"Dad," began Lily, but Mr. Evans held his hand up to stop her.

"Lily, darling," he said softly, "I don't care what you're up to, as long as you're not in any trouble."

"Oh," said Lily, "Then why…?"

"I just feel, that as your father, I should ask a few questions about these boys. I haven't been able to sleep very well tonight, worrying about you and them."

"What you do you mean?"

"They seem like very nice young men. They were certainly helpful with dinner, and if your mom and I hadn't been married for twenty-five years, I'm sure she would off and run away with that Sirius."

"Oh Dad," said Lily, sighing with a deep love for her father. "You don't need to worry. I think I… I love him, Dad."

"Which one? Because Lottie seems very interested in Sirius."

Lily took a deep breath before she said firmly, "I love James Potter."

* * *

 **A/N:** Wooooo hooo! Lily loves James! Who saw this coming? (I did). Anyway, I'm practically falling asleep proof reading so hopefully there aren't any mistakes. **Please review if you read & like this story! **Love, Lia


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